Welcome to Hell
by Neko-Graphic
Summary: Sakura has been alone for six long months. With only the Dead for company, how was she to know that salvation was only at the other end the gun pointed directly at her head. Have fun, and Welcome the Hell SasuSaku
1. First Chapter

First chapter.

How the hell did this happen? Honestly. Sakura sat alone on the hard cold asphalt in the alley behind an abandoned bar. Pink hair cut short and dressed all in black, she had adapted to the times. She had too. Soot blackened her pale skin and her emerald eyes had a fevered look. It had been...what...6 months since this shit began?

"Damn." Sakura hissed as she wrapped her bleeding arm with a dirty strip of linen. There was nothing else but she was reluctant to use her short supply of water to clean in better so it had to do. She tied off the makeshift tourniquet and sighed resting her head back against the crumbling brick sweat thick on her skin. Her hoodie protected her from the cold dry weather that had over taken the world since this disaster began.

"I can't believe this all started with a tainted hamburger. I knew McDonald's would destroy humanity but who could have imagined it would be like this?" Sakura grumbled. Her stomach ached with hunger, food was scarce here. No matter if you were dead or alive.

Sakura heard a sound. A shuffling gait that had her hackles up. Silently she stood and picked up her father's rifle she had converted to semi automatic. Thank you internet. She edged to the corner, facing the open, empty, trashed streets of Tokyo. She held her rifle ready and closed her eyes listening hard. She thanked her stars everyday her father had taught her how to hunt and handle a gun. It saved her life. Even if it didn't save his.

She was very quiet. Any sound she made could attract its attention. She heard a wet ripping sound and the splash blood hitting the ground. Seems like someone found something to eat. A low guttural growl met Sakura's ears and she knew exactly where it was in relation to her. She swung around the corner, levelled the barrel and shot the rotting corpse in the head. The bullet punched a fist size whole in the skull and splattered grey brain matter on the walk. The festering, sore covered body dropped. Sakura glanced at its contorted face, checking if it was anyone she had known and shrugged when she saw it wasn't.

That's right. Zombies. It was the Zombie Apocalypse and she was the only person alive. Or at least she thought she was. She hadn't seen another living human being in about four months. And that last lady Sakura had seen? She had been bitten and on the verge of the change. Sakura spared her that pain.

Sakura looked at what the dead thing had been eating. It was a rabbit.

"Aw man, I could have eaten that. Shit, just five feet away." She whined and walked over to the dismembered animal. "Damn." Then she saw it was female...a female rabbit was never far from a male...excellent. Sakura smirked and took the large ammunition from the rifle and replaced it with smaller, lighter weight ammunition. She waited and looked.

There, 50 feet away, a rabbit stood on its hind legs looking the other way, sniffing the air. Sakuras' smirk turned into a full out grin as she once more raised her rifle and took aim, this time using the scope and crosshairs. The damn thing was so small! She pulled the trigger and felt something slam into her arm. Her shot went wide and the rabbit took off. But that was the least of her worries. Another Zombie that looked to be the brother of the one she just killed grinned at her, his tongue lolling out and a hiss escaped its lungs. Sakura was lucky it had only hit her and had not bitten her. She didn't know if she was immune or not. And she wasn't about to test it and find out. With a yell she dodged the next swipe at her and she rolled, switching her grip on the rifle to hold it by the barrel. The great thing about zombies...is that they were rotting corpses. That made their bones really easy to break. She swung the rifle and clubbed the things legs with the butt of the gun. She heard bone crack and the thing went down with the scream of a drowning man. She jumped up and swung the rifle again, this time smashing it down on its head, smashing its skull and brain completely. Panting she looked around and saw that her dinner had taken off.

"Ah fuck it all!" She yelled stomping her foot in frustration. She was hungry damn it. Sighing again she slung the rifle over her shoulder and quickly began running away from the scene. With all that noise...the undead would be swarming the area in a matter of minutes.

XXX

She had lived a very nice life. Loving parents, a daddy's girl with a kick ass older brother. But that was all torn to pieces that day six months ago. She had been walking home from a friend's house happy and naive. Her father had asked her to go hunting with him the day before but she had declined. She was almost 18, she wanted a boyfriend and have fun, no guy wanted a girl who could kill a ten point buck and skin it in less than an hour. So over the summer she had packed away all her tomboy clothes and bought new, more feminine clothing and makeup, growing her hair out long and luxurious.

Oh, who she would kill a second time to get those days back.

Sakura scowled and pulled herself back the present. Those days were gone. She was alone now. Sakura stared into the new flames of the small fire she built on the third floor of a gutted building, sheltered in a corner formed by two remaining walls. The dead couldn't climb well so she was relatively safe here and they couldn't smell or see so her fire wouldn't give her away to anyone but the living. She pocketed the magnifying lens she kept for setting things on fire into its pocket in her shoulder bag. Unzipping the bigger pocket she pulled out a slightly worn blanket and wrapped it around her. As the sun went down so did the temperature. She built the fire up and set up a camping pot hung on a hook over the fire. She had found a well where the water was still clean and refilled her numerous water bottles and water skins. She was careful to always have water because there would be times she would go days even a week or two without seeing a fresh water source. She had taken some extra in the pot and placed it over the fire to boil. She then shrugged her sweater and began to unwind the dirty bandage on her arm. She hissed as the caked on dirt and dried blood pulled her skin. She tossed the bandage down and took out a face towel; dipping it into the boiling water she began to bathe her wound. It was a nasty scratch she had gotten from an especially quick zombie she hadn't seemed to get along with terribly well. Three long tears in her skin were red with the early signs of infection and inflamed.

"Damn it." She dabbed the cloth against the wound gritting her teeth against the pain as she cleaned it. Tying it to her arm to let the wound soak he tossed the dirty bandage into the boiling water to clean it as well. She got to work pulling out her precious needle and thread and began sewing the ripped cloth of her sweater. She only had this and another change of pants and shirt. She had to take care of them. Over the six months Sakura had seen her skills in cooking and sewing grow exponentially. Speaking of food… she placed the sweater down and dug through her back pack. She had come across an abandoned superstore. The generators they had were phenomenal since they still worked. Sakura had taken a few more bottles of water and the backpack she had now before raiding the food. A second shoulder bag that went across her chest was packed with non-perishables which were all that was left after six months. She chose one of many packets of dried soup and ripped open the top she took the water off the fire and took out the bandage, which was significantly cleaner now, and laid it on the backpack to dry. She dumped the water over the side of the building three stories down and refilled it setting it over the fire once more and adding the soup mix. She settled down and prepared to wait the night out once more.

"When is this going to end?" she whispered.

XXX

"What the hell?" Sakura came to a stop a few days later. She had walked steadily through the city. It was taking longer than it would have seemed. All forms of transportation were either non functional or had been taken by other survivors to whatever safety they could find. The scene in front of her now was…what? A hoard of Zombies was in front of her. Oh, they were dead…again. Each one of them was definitely dead what with the bullet holes in their foreheads, heads lying a few feet away from their bodies. She walked into the scene and began prodding a decapitated corpse who was also missing an arm with the barrel of her rifle. Impressive.

"So," she said with a smirk, "I guess I'm not alone out here."

End of chapter

NG: Haha welcome to my new fanfic. Why did I start this? No idea. I read an awesome zombie fanfic recently and I was inspired. But I would like to point out this is NOT A COPY. I don't plagiarize hmph. In fact here's the story that inspired me and you can see I did not copy XP.


	2. Second Chapter

Second Chapter

She had been following the tracks of her fellow non-dead humans for a week now. They were fast, moving swiftly and efficiently. Sakura was proud of her tracking skills, being able to find a deer heard in the middle of the forest in summer, but really these guys just made it way to easy. All she had to do was follow the decapitated, dismembered corpses. Judging from the bloody tracks leaving from the scenes and the different styles of killing she saw...she guessed she was following three men. Two liked to go into the fray of things, killing their prey up close and personal while the third one hung back and gave support from afar. She loved going up and inspecting the rotting corpses and seeing who killed what and keeping a mental tally for each person she personally name Sharpy, Quick and Blade.

She really was a different person than who she had been six months ago, she realized inspecting half a head that was sliced right down the middle, the things liquified brain leaking out over it's face. She had been a giddy young girl who couldn't wait for the next dance at school or party at her best friends and who hated horror movies or watching her father cut up his kills for her mother to cook. Yeah she had hunted and skinned but that had been from a distance and had little blood. Now look at her, eagerly inspecting a rotting corpse, cut to pieces as if the blade marks were left by an old friend. The only connection she had to fellow human beings. Yeah she was fucked up. But She supposed anybody who survived in a world like this was...had to be. She was getting desperate. She had been alone for almost seven months and she was craving the company of other humans, she needed it after the horrors she had done. She set her mouth in a grim line and stood up and moved away from the latest batch of 're-dead' as she called them. You can't kill the dead cause they're already dead so she came up with the term re-dead. She looked around and found the tracks and followed. It seemed that they were leaving the city.

"Strange," She muttered to herself. She had gotten into the habit of talking to herself just to keep company when she was alone, and it also helped her work things out when she was stuck and wondered what to do next. That was how she decided to come to Tokyo after her home town...well she wasn't going there. "The city has more resources and protection, anywhere else would leave them exposed and vulnerable not to mention short of food and supplies." She stood there for a few moments thinking. The desire to follow and meet them, these strong fighters who would risk the open for whatever goal they had, was overwhelming. She was so tired of being alone. So tired of fending off the dead by herself. Sakura shifted her rifle on her shoulder and her bags on her back and side and set off once more, her boots crunching on the cracked asphalt in suburban Tokyo.

XXX

It was cold and dry. Like every other day, same cold air, same thick cloud cover that didn't let the sun through. Made Sakura think that more was going on than a simple Zombie epidemic.

"Maybe this was planned by God as punishment." She thought out loud looking up at the sky. She was in the middle of a community square, a playground to her left, apartments to her right, front and back. Once more she was looking for a place to stay for the night. The wind picked up and brought with it the stench of rotting flesh. "Or maybe the Devil is having fun fucking with us." She continued turning slowly as her abnormally accurate intuition warned her of danger. Behind her was a child. Arm missing, eyes white and blank and sundress stained with the blood that probably belonged to what had been her family. Images flashed through Sakura's mind at that thought. _Her mother tending to her father, a wound on his arm. Waking up in the middle of the night to horrified screams and begging. Panting, terror, the sounds of flesh being ripped off bones. Her fathers' rifle above the mantle. Loading the gun. Pulling the trigger. Her fathers' face __contorted and revolting, dead on the floor in front of her. His blood on her face. Her mother and brother torn apart in their beds. Blood on the walls. Screams from the outside and fires illuminating night sky. Shooting her mother and brother just in case. Gathering her things and running out the door, seeing the chaos as neighbours were attacked by relatives. Sakura shooting her best friend in the head as she leaped at her blood pouring from her mouth, eyes white and teeth bared._ Tears fell from Sakura's eyes as her memories invaded her. This child brought it all back as nothing else had. Brought back what she didn't want to remember, and what she did only in brief moment of consciousness. Sakura had cut her hair that night when she had run far enough to escape the chaos. She hadn't known what she was doing, she was totally in shock. She had grabbed her hair and a sharp knife she had taken and begun slicing her hair completely, automatically before she realized what she was doing and let it all sink in. Over time she came to see it as an advantage and that long hair would have just gotten in her way so she kept it short around her chin. The girl in front of her reminded Sakura of what could have happened to her how she could have ended up if hadn't let instinct take over. The child Zombie looked at her quizzically. It didn't immediately attack her which was new. Even her own father had attacked her without hesitation. It seemed to be sizing her up, wondering if she was worth the risk.

"Yeah, definitely fucking with us." Sakura concluded staring at what had probably been a sweet little girl. Staring at herself. The girl stared back and grinned wickedly wide.

'Do the undead have emotions?' Sakura wondered for the first time. This little girl was confusing the hell out of her, it seemed...intelligent. Is it because it is a child or is there something different about her. A new mutation in the disease maybe?

"Oh great," Sakura said stepping back, clearing her head as she did so with this new realization and aiming her rifle at the child's forehead, "They're evolving." She fired and killed the girl, a punch in her stomach when she saw the girls head explode. The death of her past as she finally let her family and the life she once had go. Another tally against her for when she goes to meet her maker, zombie or not...She decided to keep moving and not stop for the night. She was catching up to her quarry and she didn't want to stay in the area. The gunshot would have alerted every undead thing in a five kilometre radius. She took off with the light fading, zipping up her sweater and pulling down the sleeves to preserve what heat she could. Heading towards a distant hill rising above the area, where she knew her fellow humans were.

XXX

Sakura climbed for what felt like an hour, the dead grass beneath her feet was dry and crunchy. It was hard to see with no light. The moon and stars hasn't been seen in six and a half months. She was staggering and she breathed heavily.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow,ow..." she muttered under breath clutching her ribs where she had a nasty stitch. She tied her sweater around her waist as she had gotten hot and sweaty. Covered in grime and blood she looked like the monsters she killed. The cold breeze that tormented her for months actually felt nice. Amazing. She crested the hill and groaned in relief. Thank God that was over!

click

She looked up, startled…

… right down the barrel of a gun.

End of Chapter


	3. Third Chapter

Third Chapter

It had been Six months since his entire family had been butchered in their sleep by his brother, turned into a Zombie and hungry for flesh and blood. He was only spared by returning from a party late. He killed his brother and was alone. Four months since he met up with his current companions. The annoying blond hyperactive freak Naruto and a lazy, porn addicted ex-military solider Kakashi. Uchiha Sasuke stood in the middle of the street his back pressed against Naruto's as they were surrounded by the Undead. Why was it always like this? What was it about them that attracted all these freaks to them?

"Damn it!" The blond behind him yelled.

Oh yeah, him. Zombies were attracted to sound and this moron was the loudest of them all...if they left him alone he would probably get eaten in an hour. Yeah he wanted that on his conscious.

"Shut up idiot," He seethed. He shifted his weight and rested his hand on the hilt of his katana,

"You just making them more agitated."

"Are you just saying that so you don't blame yourself?" The blond asked. Sasuke was tempted to strangle him but held off...at least until this horde was done with.

"Whatever." He muttered and rushed forward quickly, drawing his katana at the same time neatly decapitating the leading corpse.

"Hey! Not fair bastard!" Naruto yelled before he focused on the fight. The firing of his guns deadened by the silencers they had found for them. Since Zombies hunted by sound, they really didn't need anything more to attract them. Naruto did that well enough on his own.

He sliced a zombies head in half, dropping it like a stone. In the distance he could hear Kakashi's rifle sniping off even more undead. Sasuke didn't have to worry about being attacked from behind. He knew Kakashi was watching out for them.

All he could see was a mob of rotting flesh and bone. His blade raised and fell, blood staining the metal sending streams of the stuff flying. He felt nails dig into his leg and he looked down. A zombie missing her legs gripped to his own and grinned up at him. With a yell he yanked his leg free and stomped down on it's head crushing it's skull easily, brain and blood staining his boots. He ducked, another monsters swing went over his head narrowly missed clubbing him. The freaks were strong and powerful, learned that the hard way. He spun and brought his blade around splitting the massive zombie up the middle.

'Why don't they just eat each other?' Sasuke thought not for the first time, 'there's enough of them to go around.' But he kept fighting. He had to fight, they had to survive if they were going to reach mankind's last haven.

XXX

They had been walking for a couple hours afterwards, exhausted beyond belief when Sasuke stopped and cocked his head to the side frowning.

"What is it Sasuke?" Kakashi asked looking behind him over his shoulder.

"I'm not sure," the Uchiha said slowly, "I've been feeling it for a while but didn't think of it."

"Then why mention it now?" Naruto asked plopping himself down, grateful for a short rest.

"It's been getting stronger," Sasuke explained, "And more desperate."

"Desperate?" Kakashi asked.

Sasuke nodded, "Yeah. We're being followed."

"Say what?" Naruto asked tensing slightly.

"Desperately." Sasuke reaffirmed. Kakashi paused and looked down, folding his arms thinking. The other two watched their leader with rapt attention. Kakashi looked up and scanned the area. "Is it close?" he asked.

"About a day behind us at most." Sasuke told him, "Started about a week ago and steadily gained on us. We've been careless." Kakashi nodded.

"Let's head for that hill" he suggested pointing to a large hill in the distance. "If we are being followed we don't want to be surprised. That hill will give us advantage of higher ground and surveying the area and it will be difficult for the Zombies to climb.

"But it's so far..." Naruto grumbled standing up from the ground and dusting off his tan canvas cargo pants.

"Then we better hurry." Sasuke said picking up his pack, "It's going to get dark soon."

XXX

They were setting up camp when a gun fire echoed through the air.

"What the hell was that?" Naruto asked looking back down at the urban area. Kakashi stood confusion evident on his face. Sasuke eyed the distant buildings warily.

"More like who was that," Sasuke said quietly, his eyes scanning the area swiftly.

The wind picked up and lifted his trench coat from him.

"Sasuke why don't you keep guard for the night. You have the best eyesight an we don't want to be surprised." Kakashi told him Sasuke merely nodded. Was it possible, there were other humans out there besides them?

He walked away from the camp towards the lip of the rise they were on. There was nothing out there he could see. The scar on his neck burned slightly as it always did when something big was about to happen and he rubbed it with an absent mind.

The light faded quickly and the temperature dropped. Because they were so high up the wind was faster and colder. Sasuke stood still not giving into the temptation of sitting down to be more comfortable. He liked to test himself like this once in a while, proof that he was strong. Behind him Naruto and Kakashi spoke but their words were taken away by the wind. It was cold. He didn't mind the cold. The wind dropped a bit and he could hear the crackle of the fire.

Suddenly he heard something else. A shuffling sound from below the rise. He narrowed his eyes and drew his hand gun from its holster on his leg and held it in ready position by his side. Something was coming. He could hear it muttering something but couldn't make it out which was strange. Zombies don't talk. Or at least the ones he had met didn't. Damn Kakashi, he said this hill would be too difficult for the undead to climb. He stepped back to make more room and the thing came over the rise gasping. The fire light shone on it. Covered with dirt and blood, it had killed recently. Its arms limp, its posture hunched over. He raised his weapon and aimed it squarely at it's forehead. From two feet away there was no way he would miss. It groaned and he cocked the gun. It looked up and he stared into surprised emerald eyes.

End of Chapter


	4. Fourth Chapter

Fourth Chapter.

...

...

"Hola" Sakura said with a small wave, she slowly raised both hand in the air. Her eyes still trained on the muzzle aimed directly between her eyes. "Ummm. You mind moving that. It would really suck to live this long and to be killed by another human." The gun didn't move an inch. Annoyed Sakura looked away from the muzzle and tried to make out the person holding it. But it was too dark, all she could make out was he was tall and well built.

"You bitten?" He asked suddenly. Sakura was startled, his voice was deep and cold, pleasant to listen though.

"Nope," She replied both her hand still in the air, "just a little scratched and bruised. Bloods not mine by the way. Well," she amended, "Not all of it anyways." He hesitated for a moment as if sizing her up then lowered his M-9 handgun.

"Hn," he turned and walked away towards a fire in the distance. Sakura raised an eyebrow and followed. Inside she was having a fiesta. She finally caught up, she finally found another human that wasn't dying or about to change. Though his communication skills would say otherwise. She thought dryly.

She approached the fire and made out the figures of two others. A blond boy a year or two older than her and a man with silvery white hair who seemed to be in his thirties with over half his face covered by a mask over the bottom of his face and bandages over his eye. She looked back at her guide finally seeing his features and the teen in her jumped back into full action. Damn he was hot. Around her age maybe a couple years her senior with dark hair, pale gothic features and dark grey eyes...yum. Sakura breathed out and came into the circle. The blond was ogling her openly and the bandage man was looking at her analytically.

"Is this it Sasuke?" He asked. "Hn," her guide replied, "Yeah. This is what's been following us."

A tick appeared on Sakuras' head, "I am a person you know. I have a name. Jerk" She muttered the last part. Okay strike all delusions of jumping him. He was an asshole.

"Don't take it personally." The blond told her, "He's just like that cause you weren't something he could kill," he held out his hand. "Hey there I'm Uzamaki Naruto. It's been a while since we've seen another human who wasn't trying to eat us." Sakura took it.

"Haruno Sakura. And I must say I'm glad to be in human company again. It's been a long seven months."

"You've been alone seven months?" The bandage man asked. Sakura glanced at him surprised by the sharpness in his voice and nodded, "Yeah. Since the initial breakout."

"That sucks." Naruto said. "Kakashi, Sasuke-teme and I have been traveling together for, what four, five months?"

"Sounds about right." Sasuke said sitting down with a small sigh. Kakashi nodded.

"Sit down, pull up some ground. You look tired." He said. Sakura sat gratefully and pulled on her sweater.

"I've been tracking you guys for about a week now." She slung her rifle off and laid it beside her. Kakashi glanced at it and mentally nodded his approval for her weapon choice.

"We know." Naruto said, "Teme here sensed you." He jerked his thumb at the Uchiha who was now eating a piece of dried meat. He grunted and didn't say anything.

"Sensed?" Sakura asked.

"He's an Uchiha." He explained. Sakura was still confused. "The Uchiha is an old house rumoured to have almost telepathic abilities."

"Was." Sasuke interrupted, "Was an old house. I'm the last one." He told her. Sakura nodded understanding. She was the last Haruno.

"Yeah, anyways apparently those rumours were made true when teme was bitten." Naruto exclaimed. Sakura choked on the piece of bread she was eating.

"You were bitten?" She asked. Sasuke nodded. "And you're still alive?" Again he nodded.

"Well aren't you a lucky bastard." She replied grumpily. Naruto barked out laughter and Kakashi's lone eye crinkled in amusement. Sasuke just ignored her and kept eating.

"Ah don't get too ticked off Sakura-chan." Naruto told her, "We've all been bitten once or twice and gained something from it."

Sakura raised a brow and stared at the blond.

"Like what?" She asked slightly unnerved. Naruto thought for a moment.

"Well we've gotten faster and stronger." He said. "We heal faster than we should too."

"Teme's the only one who got specific extra powers. Damn Uchiha blood."

"Maybe your stupidity is your power moron." Sasuke said dryly.

"Asshole." Naruto seethed. Sakura watched this in fascination, thinking deeply.

"You must have noticed this in yourself Sakura." Kakashi told her. Sakura shook her head and looked down.

"Sorry but no. I've never been bitten." She told them. When silence greeted her answer Sakura looked up again, they stared at her.

"Holy damn." Naruto whispered in awe, "How hell did you survive seven months without being bitten?" Sasuke stared at this little girl. He had been an elite solider in the Japanese army and even he had been bitten more times than he wanted to count.

"Simple," Sakura replied, unnerved by their amazement, "I was careful." She shrugged it off, "I've been scratched and cut enough times. It's not like I've never been hurt in this Hell." She took a drink of water and began shrugging off her sweater. "That reminds me I got to treat this."

"What's wrong?" Kakashi asked standing up and walking over to the girl. She showed him her arm still bandaged. "I got this not long before I picked up your trail. So about two weeks ago. Some big ass Zombie landed one on me. Figured he might have been a body builder when he was alive." She began unravelling the dirty bandage with a little difficulty. Kakashi knelt by her and took over.

"Two weeks," He murmured with a frown, "You shouldn't have to wrap it anymore."

"I know right?" Sakura replied exasperated, "I have a number of scars from those things that healed all right but this one just keeps on opening up." She sighed and held her head in her hand As Kakashi examined the three long, jagged cuts. "With my luck it's infected"

"I would say with your luck it would heal up with no scaring." Naruto remarked with a grin still impressed by her never being bitten. At once her features darkened as she thought back to the beginning.

"I'm not that lucky." She replied her voice dead. Naruto's smile faltered and Kakashi glanced at her. Sasuke gazed at her steadily and noticed how haunted her eyes became. He huffed and looked away closing his eyes. They were all alone, that wasn't anything new with the Zombie outbreak, and each one of them were the last of their families.

'She's not that special.' He thought to himself, 'She's just like us.' He opened his eyes slowly. 'Alone.'

"But Sakura-chan," Naruto spoke again his voice gentle and his expression soft, "You are lucky. You met us right?" Sakura stared at him her eyes wide, surprised, "You're not alone anymore. Ne?"

Sakura was silent still staring at the blond, not quite comprehending what he just said.

"Hn," She looked over to the dark haired man. He was smirking.

"You do say something intelligent once in a while dobe."

"Psht, sometimes? All the time." Naruto replied haughtily. Beside her Kakashi chuckled as he began to treat her arm. Sakura looked between the three of them and giggled, soon she was laughing so hard she cried. It had been a long time since she laughed. Or cried for that matter.

XXX

"Where are you guys going anyways?" Sakura asked them the next day. They were walking down a highway leading away from Tokyo. Naruto looked back from the front of the group his arms folded behind his head.

"Pardon?" He asked.

"You seem to be heading in a predetermined direction." Sakura told him, "Remember? I tracked you guys for a week. I noticed there was no deviation, no wandering in your travel, you traveled steadily in one direction." Naruto nodded.

"That reminds me," Kakashi spoke up from her side, " How did you track us?" behind them Sasuke's interest perked up. He had been curious about that too.

"My father was a hunter. He grew up in the country so he taught me too." Sakura shrugged.

"That explains your choice in weapon." Kakashi commented rubbing his chin in thought, "It's a modified hunting rifle isn't it?" Sakura nodded.

"Yeah it was my Dad's. I made it into a semi-auto when I had the chance." Sasuke looked at the back of her head. The words 'was' and 'had the time' stuck in his head. If that had been her fathers, then it had been in her house. If she didn't have time to modify it before she left home then...shit. He closed his eyes and felt sick. Now he knew what she meant when she said she wasn't lucky the night before. He looked at her again. 'I'm sorry,' he thought before returning to his watch, making sure they weren't surprised from behind.

"You still haven't answered my question Naruto," Sakura said. Naruto grinned cheekily before looking forward.

"The breakout reached my place about a week after the initial infection so we had communication and everything. My Dad was a high official in the government so we received word of evacuations to a safe place. Sadly Mum and Dad were killed before we could get to the evacuation point."

"I'm sorry," Sakura said but Naruto shook his head, "Don't worry about it. I'm beyond it. Any ways we all know this started because of bad hamburgers right?"

"Yeah, I always knew McDonald's would destroy the world." Sakura commented dryly Naruto laughed.

"Well this safe place is an island country that didn't have any of the big name chain companies." He said, "So no outbreak. In fact when word reached them of the outbreak they closed their borders, any refugees were quarantined in individual rooms for a time of three days to make sure none were infected. Anyone who turned was immediately dealt with."

"Wow. Harsh." Sakura said.

"Well, wouldn't you if you were in their position?" Kakashi asked.

"I suppose," Sakura replied. "So we're heading for this Island?"

"Yep!" Naruto said cheerfully.

"How will we get there is it's an island?" She asked.

"We'll figure that out when we come to it." Sasuke said suddenly, "No doubt they're keeping an eye on what's happening. If we can we'll have to catch their attention and get picked up. And if we can't do that we'll take a boat." Sakura looked back at him when he had begun to speak.

"So you have maps," She said. Sasuke nodded.

"We're actually headed for the coast." Kakashi explained drawing Sakura's attention. "We're trying to find a port where we can acquire a boat to travel to the island."

"Does this island have a name? Sakura asked.

"The land of Fire." The three men replied together.

"Capital, Konoha." Naruto said.

"The last salvation of mankind." Sasuke finished.

End of Chapter


	5. Fifth Chapter

Welcome to Hell

Fifth Chapter.

The blood smeared sign welcoming them to Wakayama did not give the group a warm fuzzy feeling inside. Sakura blanched and Naruto looked green. It was going to be bad. This was their first urban area since Tokyo and they were starting to run low on supplies. As much as they did not want to enter the town, they had too. Urban areas were much more dangerous than the rural ones in their own way rather than just traveling on the highway. One; there were many more Undead because of the condensed populations, and two; there were a lot more hiding spots for them to jump out of to catch you by surprise. Sakura sighed and rested her weight to the side. She was tired. Although it was safer on the road, they were much more exposed and no one slept well. Urban areas had shelter, food and water.

"This is going to suck," Naruto whined, holding his head in his hand. Kakashi just closed his lone eye and sighed in resignation. Sasuke rolled his eyes and walked past them all and began heading towards the town. Sakura raised an eyebrow. That man was fearless.

"Well, he's right." Kakashi told the two. And walked past them as well.

"Right about what?" Sakura asked.

" 'Standing here isn't going to make it any better so we might as well get this shit over with.' " Naruto explained before walking away.

Sakura was silent, dumbstruck. The silent communication between these men was still a mystery she had yet to crack. 'Guess it has something to do with being together for so long.' She thought wistfully before following the men, turning around with the hand gun they had given her at the ready in case they were being followed. It was a pattern they had developed over their travels; the person at the back keeps watch at the back. The Undead were smart, attacking when the person was most venerable and from the back where it was easiest. Sakura knew this because of her last encounter in Tokyo where the child zombie had so unnerved her, it hadn't attacked her immediately but snuck around to her back, Sakura had found its footprints circling her in a spiral. Not only had it circled her, but stalked her without her noticing.

'They're evolving,' she had thought, 'mutating and learning.' It made her question just how intelligent these things could be, and how much danger they were in. She glanced at the backs of her teammates, she hadn't told them yet of her suspicions, mainly because she wasn't sure herself. Also it was a onetime event that hadn't been repeated in the weeks she had been with them.

Her hair was getting long again; she had to cut it soon. Sakura sighed; her thoughts were so random even she couldn't keep up with them. But it was true her hair always grew at an alarming rate, something she had been proud of in her past life, now it was just annoying.

Annoying, well shit. She was picking up everyone's habits. She thought as she held her head in her hand and sighed.

…

Damn it!

XXX

The last few weeks have been, for lack of a better term, interesting for the young Uchiha. Sasuke sat back on his heels at his post atop the roof of the abandoned house in downtown Wakayama. He was on watch while Sakura and Naruto raided the stores below looking for anything of use. Kakashi was a block away with his rifle at the ready, Sasuke was there in case any of _Them_ broke through Kakashi's vigilance, which was slim but Sasuke wasn't one to take chances with his comrades lives. He chewed his lip at the thought of his companions, even with the military Sasuke was a loner, isolated by his family name and his own elite abilities, he learned to project a cold exterior to dissuade any friendly encounters before they learned the hard way what it meant to be the friend of an Uchiha. Disposable.

But things had changed so drastically so quickly Sasuke was having a difficult time to catch up with the events even eight months after everything began. Being the last Uchiha, he no longer had the family commitments to tie his down and choose his path. The old nobility bloodlines were no longer worth a damn yen. He felt oddly relieved at that revelation. He could interact with whom he wanted without fearing their safety…well from a human attack anyways.

When he was bitten for the first time, he felt the world was going to end. Around him his family was dying, killed by the dead rising again. His own brother had infected him trying to take his flesh and Sasuke had ended his existence with a single shot between the eyes. Blood of his own kin staining his face a drop or two landing in his mouth. When he had felt his neck begin to burn Sasuke knew something was wrong, a bite wouldn't have shot pain down his arm and chest and head. Not that quickly before infection could set in. Sasuke fled his family home, leaving the screams of the dead and dying behind him. He didn't want to be one of those monsters. He entered the wood behind the estate, staggering and leaving a smeared trail of bloody handprints on the rough tree trunks. Sloppy, he thought, thinking back now. When he was sure he was far away from anyone and everyone he had collapsed, intending to kill himself before he became one of Them. But he had gone on too long and had no strength to lift the gun to his head, instead he passed out. The pain had kept him immobile for two days, wavering in and out of consciousness until he woke up on the third morning to find himself changed. Not one of Them but his senses, he noticed, were sharper. He could smell his sweat and blood from his body, so strong he was nauseated. When he finished dry heaving he smelt the under tones of damp earth and plant life. It had rained while he was incoherent. He opened his eyes and snapped them close with a cry. Crawling over to a river he could hear nearby his muscles screamed in excruciating pain. Gasping, he opened his eyes once more, slowly to become accustomed to the light piercing them. It was then, looking down into the running water, he first saw his eyes. The Sharingan was a legend in his family, a tale from older times. Now the infamous tomoe spun lazily in red irises reflected back at him. His mind was numb, the Sharingan in his eyes shocked him to no end, the last Uchiha who was said to have them died over half a millennia ago and he did not have the most virtuous record. Sasuke remembered the cold chill that had run down his spine then, he had been named after that ancestor, right before the smell of rotting meat hit his nose. Without thinking and much faster than he should have managed Sasuke had pushed away from the river, back to his resting spot, grabbed the gun he had dropped spun and shot what had been his cousin right between the eyes. With the gunshot echoing through the woods Sasuke had realized how quiet it had become and knew he had to leave.

Coming back from his trip down memory lane Sasuke was acutely aware of that silence now. That silence blanketed the world where ever he traveled. Not even animals had escaped the breakout out of whatever it was that changed humans into cannibalistic monsters. It hadn't been long afterward that he had met the two men he travelled with now. His eyes had freaked out Naruto but the blond quickly accepted it and Sasuke learned how to deactivate them since using them for too long gave him headaches.

When Sasuke learned that Kakashi and Naruto too had been bitten he had felt a weight taken off his shoulders, they were immune like him and he didn't have to worry of always being on the lookout for them. But with the arrival of this girl…Sasuke felt the old worry come back to him. She had never been bitten. True she had been scratched badly and had show some after affects but it wasn't the same as being bitten and Sasuke needed to keep an eye on her. Somehow she had become his responsibility in his eyes. After seeing his own mother become a monster right in front of him…call it overcompensation if you want but he really didn't want another woman to die in such a horrible way. Because to Sasuke, to become one of Them, was to die.

…

He didn't want her to die.

With a sigh that brought him completely back to reality he continued to watch the deserted street below. From the looks of it, the residents had tried to flee before the virus had reached them, only to have to run from hordes of decomposing friends and family. He could see Naruto and Sakura climbing out the window they smashed to enter the store, their packs bulging with the stolen necessary items. Water, food, bullets, not exactly prioritized in that order. Sakura had changed her pants, from baggy cargo to sleek cotton slacks that made less noise as she moved. In place of all the pockets she had Sakura had taken a utility belt with a variety of pouches. Sasuke approved. He saw the blond wave to him and Sasuke stood. Walking up to the edge he merely stepped over the side and dropped three stories to the ground landing in a silent crouch. Another gift from his brother, his body was a hell of a lot more resilient than before.

XXX

Seeing Sasuke drop from such a height and walk away like nothing happened made Sakura more than just a little jealous. Not she was willing to _try_ and become like him. From Naruto's stories it sounded painful and Sakura had enough pain in her life, also she had the feeling that Sasuke would be seriously pissed if she even tried. Sakura didn't know why his opinion mattered so much to her, because frankly he was a complete jerk but, it did. The cool wind picked up and threw the long black coat he wore far behind him. Sakura and Naruto watched as he approached him and Sakura noticed how even now he was observant and prepared for anything, ready for an attack at a moment's notice.

'Must be exhausting,' she thought slinging her one of the packs on, crossing the strap on her chest and resting the bag on her hip before shouldering her rifle.

"Oi, teme," Naruto asked the approaching Uchiha, "See anything interesting?" Sakura rolled her eyes, for all their caution sometimes it seemed like the boys went looking for trouble.

'Testosterone,' Sakura began walking in the direction she knew Kakashi to be in, trying to ignore the bickering between the 'men' behind her. She cast her attention a head of her trying to catch any sound any smell that could be from Them. Earlier she had noticed the strange lack of bloodstains on the walls and ground. But the abandoned cars and trampled debris on the road was a sharp juxtaposition, the store they had just broken into was locked for goodness sake! These people hadn't left in too much of a hurry; they tried to leave before they had gotten infected.

'Yeah, good luck with that.' Sakura thought looking around at the weather worn walls and dirty glass. They would have a relatively warm place to sleep tonight. 'Doesn't mean they didn't get attacked later down the road.' The cynical thoughts were not new to her but she was shocked at her callousness all the same. Sakura knew it was the result of all the events she had witnessed and acts she had done, it was also a form a defence to protect her from future horror's but all the same she despaired at how much she had changed in the last eight months. Despaired but accepted it. She had to change, she knew, to survive this new harsh world. Now, more than ever, she wanted to reach Konoha. Konoha meant, to her, a much needed rest.

And while she thought of heaven, they were attacked by hell.

XXX

It was instantaneous. He didn't have time to think anything but 'Stupid!' First mistake was letting Sakura walk ahead of him alone, the second was getting caught up in his damn argument with Naruto that he didn't sense the danger before it had presented itself. He had been wrong thinking that they were safe, just because the residents left didn't mean something else hadn't moved in. The large Undead male leaped out of the supposedly empty doorway and lunged for Sakura. Hampered by the bag at her hip and her rifle still on her shoulder, she couldn't retaliate. So, to her credit, she dodged toward and under the monster and landed heavily on her side, knocking the wind out of her. She scrambled to her feet leaning heavily against the wall of the store behind her. Sasuke darted in drawing his sword and in a flash separated the things arm from its torso. It threw its' head back and shrieked. It fell into an aggressive stance while Sasuke eased into a defensive one, sheathing his sword and placing it at ready for a quick draw technique. But strangely enough the monster was not fixated on the immediate threat of Sasuke, which was the unusual, but on the woman behind him catching her breath. Its gaze did not waver from the pinkette which was odd. Sasuke frowned, he knew that look, it was the look he had seen many times directed at him all his life. Lust.

Okay this was weird. Could the undead feel emotions? This was the first time such a thought crossed his mind. A gunshot ripped through the air, Kakashi! But the beast in front of him did not fall.

"What the hell?" He heard Naruto mutter, it was then Sasuke looked around. The Undead were appearing everywhere, from alleys and open doors, surrounding them. They had walked into an ambush. Sasuke's mind reeled, this was beyond his comprehension. The undead advanced slowly, their jaws yawning and gnashing as they approached the trapped trio.

"Well, fuck. Of course I just _had_ to be right!" Sakura muttered behind him. Sasuke risked a glance over his should at her and saw her pale face. She unslung her rifle slowly and looked as if her mind was racing a mile a minute. Sasuke's eyes narrowed. What did she know? But that was a question for another day. Right now, they we're going to be eaten or worse for the woman behind him. Where was Kakashi? Sasuke scanned the hoard there seemed to be fifteen, maybe twenty undead. This will be tricky. The leader, it seemed took a step forward drawing Sasukes attention once more. Clearly it was pissed at Sasuke's position between it and Sakura. It growled deep in it's chest, baring fangs that were yellow with stains of old blood.

'Alpha,' Sasuke thought completely still, 'definitely an Alpha male, dominating others and controlling them.' It was an obvious thought but he kept going down that train to cover the undercurrents of what he was feeling. 'Was this what he could have become?' that thought paralyzed him. The realization of how close he had become to being one of these things. He felt something slender rest on his shoulder and a deafening bang which made his ears ring.

"Dream on sicko." He heard Sakura mutter right before she blew the monsters head off. It exploded, brains scattering in a fountain of blood and bone. It dropped, hitting the ground with a dull, wet, thud.

"Doesn't matter how strong and controlling you are, you still die when a bullet hits you head and blows out your brains." Sakura said coming from around Sasuke her face impassive but still a little pale. Her earlier comment finally registered in his head.

"You have some explaining to do Haruno." Sasuke hissed to her. She scoffed at him.

"Oh as if this is my fault!" She snapped at him, slightly taken aback. And infuriated to boot.

"You know something!" he said. Sakura opened her mouth to reply but Naruto cut her off.

"Guys, I really don't think this is the best time." Naruto said slowly his twin guns at the ready he had already fired off a few quick shots, dropping two or three of the undead.

"We'll talk later." Sasuke told her Sakura stuck out her tongue at him and the three of them charged the hoard.

End of Chapter

NG: I will just say flat out that it was very difficult to write this chapter. But! It is a filler chap. The four previously were an arc, and that's how I'm going to write this story, in archs, so this is an in-between chap of arch's. Next up, the trip to Konoha arch with developments in the SasuSaku department... hopefully.


	6. Sixth Chapter

Sixth Chapter

"Get up the stairs, up the stairs!" Sasuke urged his two comrades. Sakura didn't need any further invitation. She finished her burst of covering fire as Naruto ducked into the apartment building; she lowered her rifle and pulled the door closed behind him. On impulse she locked the deadbolt and followed the blond up the stairs while Sasuke kept watch at the large window on the landing half way up. He fired a short burst as she passed him. Their eyes met briefly and she looked away with a huff. He rolled his eyes and followed her quickly his hand pressed to her back to help her along. She was tiring after breaking through the ring of Undead and fighting their way here, now having to climb four stories to the roof, she didn't have the improved stamina Sasuke and Naruto acquired.

Sakura missed her step and slipped, landing hard she twisted her ankle and slammed her knee into the next landing. She yelped and Sasuke heard the windows shatter downstairs the door still seemed to be holding. He looked down at Sakura as she stood and raised a brow. She shrugged.

"I locked it." She said gritting her teeth against the pain stabbing its way un her leg. Sasuke almost laughed if it weren't for the sound of rotting flesh begging to climb the stairs below them. She tried to stand and cried out, her leg giving out on her. Sasuke quickly stooped and slung her arm around his shoulder, he helped her climb the remaining flights until they reached the roof. Naruto had picked the lock and reached back to help Sakura through Sakura growled in annoyance but accepted the help. She knew her leg was no good for at least a few days. She may not have the stamina or resilience as her testosterone overflowing friends but she sure healed a hell of a lot faster than they did. All injuries were gone without a scar within hours or days depending on the injury. Chalk one up for partial contamination. All except her arm. Every now and again the scratch she had gotten almost a month ago would open and bleed, never healing completely. Naruto set her down against the buildings air-conditioning unit and prodded her foot. A fresh jolt of pain stabbed up her leg.

"Holy shit!" Sakura cussed. Naruto shook his head and bit his lip.

"Look's bad Sakura-chan." The blond told her prodding a bit more gently, "I think something might be broken but I can't tell from here.

"Oh great, just fucking great." Sakura hissed looking around. Sasuke had closed the door, which locked automatically thank god, and was backing away, his hand on the hilt of his katana. She knew this situation was hopeless; they were trapped on this roof with no way off. An image came to mind. A memory of just a few hours ago. Sasuke stepping off a roof a little lower than this and landing like it was a breeze. He and Naruto were about equal in abilities, if Sasuke was a bit faster and Naruto a bit more resilient. Damn that kid had stamina to spare!

"Hey," She got the blonds attention cementing the idea in her head and accepting the outcome, "give me a gun." Naruto looked at her strange.

"Sakura-chan you have a gun." He told her.

Sakura shook her head, "Rifle's too big, too awkward." She panted, sweat dripping into her eyes. Naruto placed a hand gun in her outstretched hand.

"There aren't many in there." He told her. Sakura calmly loaded the gun and unlocked the safety.

"No worries there, I only need one," she told him. Both Sasuke and Naruto turned and looked at her sharply. She stared back calmly, resigned.

"No." Sasuke dead panned.

"Sakura-chan you can't, we can get out of this," Naruto pleaded.

"Yes, you can." Sakura said, "I can't. This leg makes it impossible for me to go on. The least I can do is to be bait while you two get away."

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto said softly. Sasuke looked away, as if dismissing what she had to say.

"No listen," Sakura snapped, getting their attention once more. "Most of them are inside and on the other side of that door." She began, "I can't move. I can't fight, not with this leg and my arm acting up whenever it so pleases." She glared at the offending appendage briefly before returning her gaze to the two males. One looking helplessly back, the other stubbornly away.

"What I know," she told them, directing what she had to say next to the Uchiha, said man looked back at her finally, his eyes hard and guarded, "they are evolving." She said simply.

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"Those monsters," Sakura said, indicating the door and the undead behind it. They were now beginning to beat in the steal slab between them and dinner. "They're evolving, becoming more intelligent in a carnal, primal way. I first noticed it the day before I found you guys but it was a one time incident and didn't think anything of it, but that girl…" Sakura's eyes turned distant, " she stalked me, circled me in an organized spiral pattern that a predator would, hunting its prey. She waited until I had stopped and was tired before showing herself. She _smiled_ at me, like she knew I wouldn't shoot a child, couldn't kill a child. That must be how she hunted all along for her to so certain. A technique tried and succeeding, refined until it's perfect." Sakura closed her eyes and came back to the present.

"I thought it was a onetime thing, a fluke, but the organization, the control and the direct targeting of me of this horde by the Alpha male has led me to believe otherwise." She took a breath continued, "The fighting from here on will be more intense and more difficult."

"Kinda like a video game." Naruto commented.

"Not now moron!" Sasuke hissed but Sakura only chuckled grimly.

"Yeah I suppose it is." She said, her eyes sad but grateful for the joke to ease the tension. "The point is, this leg will take a while to heal, and I will only slow you down, you might make a lethal mistake when you were protecting me instead of focusing on the fight. There's no point in us all dying." Silence stretched between the trio, bringing the tension to its breaking point, the pounding on the door became steadily louder the hinges creaked under the constant strain.

"Go." Sakura told them, "They're almost through. Don't worry about me." Heartbreak was all she could see on her blond friend's expression, Sasuke's face was carefully stoic, much more than usual so she knew that he actually was affected by what she said.

"I don't want you to die because of me." She whispered finally. The door behind them was wrenched off its hinges and went flying as the hoard spilled onto the roof. Suddenly Sasuke looked up as if he heard something and smirk broke onto his face.

"No one's dying today." Sasuke said and he rushed forward pulling Sakura up into his arms in a bridal hold.

"Sasuke what the hell?" Sakura snapped a frown on her face. Naruto looked at the Uchiha in surprise than he too heard what Sasuke did and a wide smile almost split his face in two.

"Oh hell yeah," He said and he and Sasuke bolted for the edge of the building.

"Hold on tight." Sasuke murmured to the girl in his arms. Sakura looped her arms around his neck and buried her head in his chest. She hated heights. Sasuke chose to ignore the feeling he got in his stomach at this and leaped just as the leading Thing touched his pant leg with outstretched rotting fingers.

They were suspended in the air for what seemed like an eternity before they fell. Sakura shrieked into Sasuke's shirt as her foot was jolted by the fall, and then again when they landed, just as a large SUV pulled up to a screeching halt beside them. Kakashi opened the driver's door and took one look at Sakura's pained pale face and moved around the back opening another door.

"Put her in the back. Sasuke drive. I'll see what I can do. Naruto shotgun, keep them away." The older man ordered as he tossed a brand new shotgun at the blond. Naruto whooped and jumped into the passenger seat. Rolling down the window he rested the gun on the ledge and swept the alley they were in, looking for targets. Sasuke placed Sakura gently into the back seat after prying her arms from around her neck. He gently buckled her in and ran around to the driver's seat, throwing his katana in before him he jumped and started the car without buckling in. As soon as Kakashi was in Sasuke slammed the SUV in reverse and pealed out of the alley just as a body landed in front of the SUV with a splat. Sasuke paused, drove forward and ran it over with a pop that made even Naruto turn green before speeding away.

"Hey, over there!" Naruto pointed. Sasuke looked over a swerved in the direction Naruto was pointing. Naruto opened his door and slammed it into an undead woman, ripping her head off. "Ten points!" he yelled.

"Males are twenty," Sasuke told him running another one over.

"Hey now!" Kakashi protested from beside Sakura, "This isn't a tank!" Sakura rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to laugh even as the jarring from the impact set her ankle a fire. Boys and their toys. And silently she began to shake and cry with relief. If any of the three men noticed, they didn't say anything.

End of Chapter


	7. Seventh Chapter

I don't own Naruto, I do however own this story and plot, you plagiarize, I get maaaaaaad. You don't want to see me mad.

Welcome To Hell

Seventh Chapter

_It was something I couldn't tell them._

_No matter what..._

'This is bad,' Kakashi thought as sweat gathered on his furrowed brows. Sakura's breath had not eased up since she passed out hours ago from he pain in her foot and knee. However it was not her leg that was his immediate worry. Sakura's arm had begun bleeding once more from the old wound that never healed properly. She claimed she had been clawed by a random Zombi she killed just weeks before meeting up with the men. But now, Kakashi frowned, placing a cool hand on her brow, he wasn't so sure. Normal wounds like a simple clawing healed up in a matter of weeks, but this wound had been with her for almost two months now and it still hadn't even closed up. It was possible, he thought, that she had gotten an infection that prevented it from closing up but than there would have been signs, inflammation, excretion of pus that was the norm but none of these had shown, they didn't change, as if she had been ravaged only the day before. The only difference were the spreading angry red lines spreading jaggedly from the wound. Those scared Kakashi in a way he didn't understand.

Kakashi carefully unwrapped the soiled gauze from around the arm, dark patches of dried blood clotted the skin surrounding the three jagged cuts. Kakashi lost his balance as Sasuke swerved the SUV sharply to avoid a large pothole in the middle of the highway. Cursing under his breath as he regained his balance, the white haired ex-soldier groped around under the back bench seat for his bag.

"How is she sensei?" Naruto asked softly from the front passenger seat. He had twisted around to get a better look.

"She's not good Naruto," Kakashi told the blond hauling the bag up onto the seat beside him. Naruto had started calling him sensei when Kakashi taught him how too use his twin hand guns Naruto had salvaged from his family home when they had fled the hoard. Kakashi didn't even try to stop him anymore. "It's her arm again, I just don't understand why it wont close up." He pulled out a bottle of water and staggered once more as the SUV jerked again to the side. "Fuck Sasuke drive steady!" Kakashi snapped. Sasuke gritted his teeth and said nothing, his tightened grip on the wheel went unnoticed by his companions.

"It's not my fault some fucking moron decided to try and destroy the highway!" He hissed back to the elder man.

Kakashi rolled his eyes,"Naruto I need you to open a fresh pack of gauze while I clean the blood off her arm. Sasuke see if you can find a hospital near by. We need to splint her leg and find some disinfectant, maybe that will help her arm."

"Got it." Naruto replied as he grabbed another bag and rooted for a pack of gauze. Sasuke grunted and leaned forward to punch in his request into the GPS. Kakashi waited for Sasuke to finish and had placed both hands back on the wheel before opening a bottle of water from his bag and soaking a rag to clean the wound. Kakashi lifted her arm and began dabbing gently. Sakura groaned in pain as the movement jostled her leg. Sweat and dirt mixed on her skin and Kakashi held a wet hand to her forehead.

"She's burning up," Kakashi told the two as he continued to clean her arm. "Sasuke, drive faster. Have you got a location on a hospital?"

"There's one on an offramp three exits down." Sasuke told him, "I don't know what we'll find there Kakashi. A year without electricity to keep the refrigerators going to keep medicine cool... I don't think we'll find anything." He glanced back took one look at Sakura's pained face and locked his eyes once more on the road.

"We won't know until we try." Naruto told his friend opening a packet of gauze and handing it to the older man.

Kakashi accepted the gauze and began wrapping it expertly around her arm. The wounds were still seeping blood, but it was now a clean, watery red rather than the black, thick, clotting ooze from earlier.

"Here," Naruto offered another wet rag. Kakashi took it and placed it on the fevered girls forehead.

"Our lives were certainly a whole lot less complicated before you came along my dear," Kakashi sighed, looking down at Sakura. He eased away from her so to not accidentally jar her leg, "But then again, they would be a whole lot less interesting if you hadn't." He finished with a smile.

"Yeah, you hear that Sakura-chan!" Naruto chirped in, "You can't die, you wouldn't want us to be bored now do you?" Sakura merely coughed in response.

"She wont die." Sasuke said suddenly, "She's too damn stubborn to die." Keeping his eyes on the road Sasuke pulled onto the offramp. "Right?" Naruto blinked at his friend, surprised at his sudden encouragement and grinned.

"Yeah!" He agreed with enthusiasm as Sasuke rolled his eyes. Kakashi grinned at his two companions and sighed.

xxx

"I'll stay behind to make sure nothing happens to Sakura." Kakashi told the two as they suited up outside the SUV. "I'm just going around the block to fuel up, we all have radio contact so if need be I'll be there for a quick get away." Sasuke nodded as he strapped his favoured katana to his lower back, and slung a full automatic M-14 assault rifle onto his shoulder.

"Just don't go too far." Naruto muttered as he tucked the list of items they needed into his front vest pocket and picked up the empty duffle bag they would use to carry the items back. Kakashi grinned and leaned against the vehicle. "Again, I'm just going around the block." He reminded the blond, "I'll also be on the look out for fresh water so you don't need to worry about that. Just stay focused on getting what's on that list and get the hell out of there. I don't sense anything near but with these new evolutions and mutations we're seeing, I wouldn't put anything past Them."

"Greeeeeaaat, just what we need, undead bastards who can hide their presence, just great." Naruto drawled with a roll of his eyes.

Sasuke reached over to a near by tree and half jokingly knocked on the trunk to ward off the jinx. After surviving this long you can't blame any of them for being just a little superstitious. "Lets go get this over with." He told the blond. Naruto grinned and started off towards the abandoned hospital. Sasuke took one last look at the fitfully sleeping woman, made a 'tsk'ing sound and followed.

_I never wanted them to know..._

xxx

"Man, this place is crreeeeeeeepyyyyy!" Naruto grimaced as he slowly cast his flashlight around an empty patient room. Torn drapes waved lazily back at him as the cold, dry air blew in through the broken window. Bloody smears decorated the walls of the entire building like a grotesque wall paper. Sasuke could still hear the echos of the screaming people as they fled the infected undead that hunted them.

"The sooner we find what we're looking for the sooner we can leave." Sasuke told his friend as he kept an eye on the reception area near by.

"Right," Naruto replied, turning away from the room and gazing down the hall lifting his hand gun and doing a quick sweep with his flash light., "You just want to get back to Sakura-chan." He teased the stoic Uchiha.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and refused to look at his moronic companion, also refusing to reply. He simply began walking away when he saw the coast was clear, stalking carefully down the dark hallway, katana drawn and at his side in his left hand. He trailed his right on the wall, fingers feeling the different textures and ridges of dried blood from the smooth, boring wall paint. The whole window ahead of him cast a sharp relief of light on the debris covered floor. He paused, his eyes narrowing as his Sharingan noticed movement.

"I mean," Naruto continued his arms resting lazily behind his head, "Who wouldn't. Pretty girl, unconscious and helpless. Anything could happen really, what with no way of defending herself and anything..."

"Shut up moron," Sasuke growled lowering himself into a stance.

"See! Even you are getting upset, man you must be blind if you can't even realize you..." Sasuke cut him off with a sharp slap to the side of the head. Before Naruto could protest Sasuke gestured to the shadow he could see out of the corner of his eye. Immediately Naruto got serious, placing his flashlight in his teeth he drew a long hunting blade and held one of his hand guns at the ready.

They pressed themselves up close to the wall and Sasuke silently counted down with his hand. 3-2-1. The pair flung themselves around the corner weapons at the ready. The tattered window curtain flapped back in answer. The pair breathed out easily, the tension leaving their bodies temporarily.

"Man, if one of those bastards doesn't kill me before we get to Konoha, the bloody stress of getting there will."

"Yeah." Sasuke replied stretching his neck to help relieve the stress, "Come on, we need to find that medicine."

"Glad we found the splint and gauze right away," Naruto said patting the bag on his hip, not minding the Uchiha's cold answer. He was used to his antisocial tendencies by now. "Lets see what else we can stock up on while we're at it."

"Might as well." Sasuke agreed, "We don't know if the antibiotics will work, so just to be sure, gather up as much gauze and rubbing alcohol we can find for future injuries."

"Gotcha," Naruto gave the Uchiha a mock salute and a grin. Sasuke smirked back and froze. The smirk slowly disappearing from his face as he swung up his gun.

"Naruto down!" he yelled just as the massive, rotting corpse leaped out of the shadowed doorway.

xxx

Kakashi exited the abandoned gas station with his arms laden with food. This was his third trip into the building picking up supplies. He guessed the people in the neighbourhood were in too much of a hurry to escape the hoard that they didn't stop to grab anything.

'Lucky!' he thought with a smile as he all but skipped to the SUV. A surprise greeted him as he got there. Sakura sat in the open back doorway with her head resting against the frame.

"Yo," She greeted with her eyes still closed.

"Yo," Kakashi replied moving around the vehicle to dump the snack food into the back with the real food and boxes of bottled water.

"Where are the other two? Looting?" Sakura asked the older man.

"Yeah you can say that." he replied, shifting things around so nothing got crushed.

"Where?"

"The hospital, we're low on the basics." Kakashi said.

"By themselves?" Sakura asked opening her eyes.

"Someone had to stay with the sleeping princess." Kakashi told her looking up from his stock pile with a smile. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"I can take care of myself." she muttered.

"So how's your arm?" Kakashi asked with a suspiciously innocent voice. Sakura huffed and closed here eyes again not answering.

"It's a legit question Sakura," Kakashi said, "Your arm opened up again. I need to know."

"It's numb." She told him, "I can't move it." Kakashi frowned and came around from the back. Lifting her arm he peeled back the bandages to take a look.

"Has this happened before?" he asked the girl.

"No," Sakura drawled she frowned and clenched her eyes. "Damn, my head." Kakashi looked up from his examination with a worried look. "It feels like it's about to split open."

"Could be a side effect from the numbing in your arm." Kakashi told her slowly replacing the bandages on her arm. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, besides the obvious.

"Ouch!" Sakura clutched her head as the pain intensified, a terrible throbbing behind her eyes. It got to much to bear and she turned her head away from Kakashi and emptied her stomach, acrid bile burned her throat and mouth.

"We have to get back to the Hospital." Sakura muttered.

"Damn!" Kakashi's sudden outburst made Sakura look up. Her eyes widened and she dived back into the SUV to retrieve her rifle. Kakashi had already drawn his hand gun as they were surrounded by the dead.

"Where the hell did They come from?"

xxx

Adrenalin is often credited with enabling humans to do amazing feats, such as rescuing a human being crushed under a car, or running into a burning building to save those trapped inside. No one, however, mentioned the feeling of complete invulnerability. Sasuke thought this as he dodged the thrown chunk of concrete flying towards his head. Naruto took the opportunity of the monsters distraction to dive behind it and fire two direct shots into the back of its' head. The thing shrieked with the sound of crying dogs. It whipped it's head around, eyes burning red and it hissed at the blond.

"No way," Naruto said weakly, his body froze in the monsters murderous rage. "My bullets don't work?" Sasuke glanced back at his friend as he ran to the monsters blind spot.

"Stay focused idiot!" He yelled at his friend. The monster turned at his voice and swiped at him with a large over muscled arm. He jumped back and felt his back collide with a wall, trapping him.

"Sasuke!" more cracks of gunfire as Naruto emptied his clips into the things back. Sasuke drew his sword and blocked the monsters large hand as it attempted to crush him into the wall. He gritted his teeth and stones ground themselves into his back.

"Get out of here!" He yelled to Naruto.

"What? No way!" He yelled back.

"You don't have any more clips, and only a hunting knife." Sasuke gasped out, his muscles screaming in exertion, "Look. He's more interested in me. Hurry, find the antibiotics! I'l catch up!"

Naruto hesitated unsure of what to do. He knew he'd be useless now that he had no more clips, but...

"Just go!" Sasuke yelled as he felt the wall give a little more behind him.

Naruto clenched his teeth and his nails bit deep into his palm. "Fuck..." he muttered. Frustrated that he couldn't do more. "You better come back alive you bastard!" He yelled and the took off down the hall towards the stair well.

Sasuke grinned, "of course you moron..." the wall finally failed and Sasuke was sent into the dark room beyond, with the monster tumbling after him.

xxx

"Damn it, Damn it, Damn it!" the blond ran down the dedicated hallways of the fifth floor. He heard the wall give below and had to hold himself in check so he wouldn't run back. His footsteps were sharp in the silence of the hospital. On instinct he drew his hunting knife and pivoted as he reached the corner reversing the knife he drove it back handed into the skull of the corpse waiting on the other side of the corner. He yanked it out ignoring the splatter of blood on the wall and his white shirt as he leaped over the falling body and continued to run down the hall. Just as he hard the body hit the ground with a liquid sounding splat he saw a door at the end of the hall, with a grill locked window beside it used to dispense drugs to patients.

"Bingo." he sped up his pace. Reaching the door he grasped the handle, turning to only to find it locked. He gaped at the door nob "Really?" he pinched his nose with a sigh a small tick appears on his forehead. "Screw it." He muttered and kicked the door in smashing it off the wall. Light streamed into the darkened room and a horrible smell smacked him full in the face It was a smell he had come quite accustomed to. The smell of decomposing flesh.

"Awe geeze." He looked away from the sight before him. People, escaping from the Dead had barricaded themselves into the tiny room. Five men and women all huddled together in a too small room. Naruto held a hand over his overly sensitive nose. He could still smell the fear among other putrid scents and sights. Humans did what they could to survive. Even off each other. Poor bastards. He thought stepping over a lady's hand, a charm bracelet still glinted through the blood coating it in the dim light. He tried not to think about what he might be stepping on when his shoes made a soft squishing noise now and then. He stepped over them one by one, ignoring them as best he could.

'Sometimes, being a compassionate guy reeeeeealy sucks.' he thought grimly. He made his way to the wall in the back where the hospital had kept all the drugs they needed. He opened the duffle bag he had brought and began taking bottles off the wall. Painkillers, antibiotics, sleep aids, anything he thought they needed in the days to come. 'Definitely are going to need sleep aids when we get to Konoha.' He figured.

xxx

"Get in the car! Get in the car!" Kakashi yelled. Running around to the drivers side. Sakura stopped her firing to load a fresh clip and nodded quickly, knowing that if she opened her mouth she would throw up. She could barley focus on aiming never mind pulling the trigger, for each shot felt like an ice pick being driven into her skull. She holstered her weapon and reached for the door, before freezing. For a moment she got this sickening feeling in her gut. A cold sweat broke out on her back and forehead and felt her heart beat suddenly become heavy in her chest.

"Sakura!" Kakashi's yell broke her from her reverie and her eyes came back into focus to see a corpse reaching for her neck. She threw herself back from the thing with a yell and kicked out, catching the thing in the chin, snapping it's head back.

"GO!" she yelled. Kakashi complied, throwing the SUV in gear and stomping down on the gas. The vehicle lurched forward, the momentum causing the open door to slam itself shut. Sakura sprawled across the back bench seat and panted. The sick feeling in her gut hadn't gone away, if anything it go worse. It wasn't nausea per say, but it made her feel horrible anyways.

"What the hell happened there?" Kakashi asked her angrily as he sped down the road, keeping ahead of the sudden appearance of the hoard. Why did this keep happening to them?

"I don't know," Sakura gasped. She pulled her self up and leaned forward to grab Kakashi's shoulder. "We have to get back to the hospital." She told him. "somethings wrong." He glanced back at her and took note of her feverish state.

"What do you mean?" he asked the girl. Sakura shook her head resting it on her hand.

"I don't know," She whisper, "I just...know it. Something bad is happening to them. I feel it." Kakashi looked at her for a moment longer before nodding sharply and returning his eyes the road. Sakura fell back to her seat and rested her head on the back rest and covered her eyes with her arm doing her best to keep her stomach from rebelling and screaming in agony. Kakashi glanced back at her, his mind whirring. It wasn't to be unexpected, he reasoned. After being bitten, each one of them had developed interesting abilities in some fashion. Sasuke's Sharingan, Naruto's sense of smell and extreme resilience, his own ability to accurately predict a persons movements. It could be because she was only scratched and not bitten it had taken a much longer time for her ability to develop. To sense her allies position and situation... almost psychic tendencies to locate what they needed and what to avoid. All their abilities stem from some sort of aspect in their lives before this all began. Sasuke's family lineage, Naruto's love of sports and food, Kakashi's training as a sniper...but what was Sakura's source? Kakashi nearly spun out as he took the last corner at full speed, fishtailing violently causing Sakura to cry out.

'Not important,' Kakashi concluded as he screeched to a halt in front of the hospital. Jumping out he grabbed his semi-automatic.

"Third floor..." Sakura breathed. Kakashi stopped and looked back at her.

"What?"

"Sasuke." Sakura said, "He's on the third floor, fighting...something. Naruto is on the fifth floor heading down." Kakashi paused to take this in, marvelling at her newly developed ability.

"Gotcha," He replied and locked the doors before running to the building to help his younger companions.

xxx

After the wall had collapsed, everything was silent. Sasuke had jumped back at the last moment and was now crouched in the corner away from the window. The scar on his neck began to burn, a sign, Sasuke knew, of his family's legacy awakening in him. He was named after his ancestor, the one who last wielded the Sharingan. Made him wonder if just maybe his mother and father knew what they were doing. 'Maybe it was just fate.' he thought venomously as his senses sharpened. His eyesight cleared, his sense of smell picked up the faintest sent, his hearing recognizing the quietest sounds. Even time slowed. His grin widened transforming his face into a mask of malicious enjoyment.

_I didn't want them to see..._

The large Undead stood slowly, questing it's head side to side, trying to pick up any sound he might make. Sasuke blinked slowly his red eyes glowing dimly in the darkness. He held his katana in font of him. The light filtering in through the ragged drapes slid down the length of the blade, glistening dangerously at the point.

He tensed his legs, shifting his stance, his shoes scratched the rubble strewn floor. The Things head snapped up and Sasuke lunged striking with his katana point first towards the Things heart, thrusting with one hand, the other reached behind him to pull out a throwing knife and hold it reversed in his other hands grip. His blade pieced the monsters shoulder as it dodged left. It jerked it's shoulder back throwing Sasuke off balance and it gipped his blade in it's hand and ripped it out of it's shoulder.

Sasuke let go of the sword before the Thing threw it and him across the room. He watched the sword fly through the air and embed itself in the wall. He ran towards it, throwing his knife at the Thing. The knife made whistling sound, distracting the Thing for the moment he needed to close the space between him and his favourite weapon. But the monster was faster then he previously estimated and at the last moment he had to dodge left, flipping himself away from the monsters powerful fist. With a loud crack the fist went through the concrete floor and stuck there, sending chips of rock and tile flying. A small piece grazed Sasukes face, cutting his cheek bone. Blood dripped down his face making him look as if he was crying.

Sasuke landed on the wall, his hand balancing him and he launched himself off the wall, pushed himself off the monsters back, his hand reaching for his sword. The undead Thing managed to free it's hand, spraying more rock and tile everywhere. Faster than Sasuke realized it was capable of, it grabbed his ankle, and spun throwing the Uchiha across the room. Sasuke's back was going to be one big bruise in the next morning. He pushed himself up from the floor, blood dripping from his face and mouth, provided he lived through this that is... he felt his lips move on their own. Into a form they had never been in for a very, very, long time. He smiled. He smiled wide, lips separating showing his teeth. This was fun... he was having so much fun... he licked his lips, standing on his feet, straightening with his blood red eyes locked onto the monster in front of him. It had seemed to notice him too because it walked forward with short, but sure steps.

Before he could get his bearings Sasuke leaped forwards, his long black coat flowed behind him like wings. He kneed the thing in it's face cutting his knee in the process on the monsters sharp fangs. It's head snapped back from the force of his blow, it's own weight bringing it down, it landed heavily on its back and Sasuke skidded on his knees for five feet, turning as he did. He reached out with his hand, bumping into the wall he closed his hand on the hilt of his Katana, yanking it out of the wall in one pull. Dust added their layer to his clothes and skin. His eyes glowed brighter as he stood. His body was numb to the pain, but he knew he couldn't last much longer. He had taken too much damage before this fight even began and Sharingan still took a bit out of him. Not as much as it used to but still quite a bit. He needed to finish this now.

'Ah well,' his mind thought absently, 'it was fun while it lasted.' he spun the sword lazily in a circle. Gathering his strength. His neck was the only part of him in pain. The scar his brother gave him ached ferociously making his blood burn. He eyed his opponent. It's neck was as thick as a tree trunk. It would take real effort to cut through it in one strike. Than he stopped, and thought. The skin, and muscle, is thinest at the back of the neck...where the spine was. Oh yes.

He didn't even wait, didn't stop to think of how he would do this. He just went. Completely unlike himself, he lost himself in the joy of the kill. He ran to It's right side and stopped suddenly placing his sword in a drawing position by his hip, he brought it out quickly across his body, the momentum bringing him with the blade, adding more power and slammed the blade into the back of the monsters neck, severing the bone and nerves within. In that instant, the corpse froze in mid-reaction. It's arm caught him around his waist, claws digging into his left side. Blood sprayed, from both It and him.

With effort Sasuke pulled his blade free, and cut the hand off the corpses hand off it's wrist. Allowing it to fall with the rest of it's body. Carefully extract the claws from his side. He yanked it out the last inch and bit his already bleeding lip to keep from making a sound. Damn he hurt. The pains and aches were beginning to catch up to him. He felt a bubbling in his stomach, it traveled up to his mouth and he began to laugh. He laugh loud and free, letting out all the tension of the fight, of his life, of things he didn't understand, and just for the sheer joy of victory.

"Sasuke..." The quiet voice, Brought Sasuke back to reality he stopped laughing and looked over to the opening he had made in the wall. Kakashi stood there, his gun hanging on his shoulder. The mans shocked expression showed something Sasuke didn't want to see on anyones face.

_...how much I enjoyed this terrible world._

End of Chapter


	8. Eighth Chapter

Welcome to Hell

A/N: Okay everyone, just to let you all know I have edited the last seven chapters and fixed aaaallll the mistakes people have mentioned. What I can't fix is the confusion some people are having with the time line. FYI people, some chapters take place from anywhere hours, days, weeks maybe even months who knows, I plan a chapter that will take place about a month after the previous one... but SPOILERS no. Stop reading this and read my story.

Eighth Chapter

This sucks. Reeeeealy sucks. Sakura held her head in her hands. The massive migraine she had acquired since coming out of her coma like state had not left her since leaving that surprisingly dangerous town behind. There was just so much danger around them Sakura didn't even have time to sort out how to block off this new ability, which seemed to be a new evolved version of her sharp intuition she had since childhood. Well, to be honest there was nothing so bad close enough to warrant such pain by her scale, but the man sleeping next to her was emitting enough dangerous aura, or whatever, to make her sick. They had made camp in the living room of an abandoned house three towns away from the hospital of horror. They were getting close, Sakura knew, to the coast and to safety. She could feel it like a warm light on her skin.

Sakura dry heaved and rolled out from under the blankets Kakashi had draped over her when she had passed out again after Sasuke jumped into the SUV. God she was getting tired of passing out. She limped out of the living room and carefully climbed the stairs to the second floor, taking care not to rest too much weight on her leg. Since the awakening of her...sixth sense? Her regenerative ability exploded, now an injury that would have taken a week to heal only took a day max. Her leg was almost as good as new and the wound on her arm finally closed though she just knew it would scar. She reached the second floor and found a window facing away from the empty street, towards a dense forest. She opened the window and rested her head against the frame allowing the cool wind to ease her poor head, she smiled as she smelled the ocean they were that close. Then the grin slowly faded. Something had changed in her friend, and she knew Kakashi had seen it as well. Whatever it was...it scared her. Naruto was, happily, oblivious to it all and stewed in his own mind what he had seen in the hospital. He had yet to tell anyone but Sakura knew it had happened and that it would pass. This was getting really annoying.

Footsteps behind her alerted her to his presence as he came up the stairs.

"What happened?" She asked. Silence greeted her. "Kakashi explained to Naruto and you what I can do now correct?" Again the Uchiha chose not to say anything. "Did you expect me not to notice?" Sasuke stared at the back of her head trying to think of something to say.

"It's none of your business." He said at last. Sakura stiffened as if she had been slapped.

"How the hell is this not my business?" she asked whipping around from the serenity outside the dark chaos behind her. "I can see it Sasuke. Your my friend and-"

"I'm not your friend." Sakura gaped when Sasuke cut her off.

"What?" she asked.

"I'm not your friend." Sasuke repeated coming up the rest of the stairs. "We share a common goal," he said getting into Sakura's space, "To get to Konoha alive. As long as we share that goal I will make sure we will all succeed but know this Sakura," the way he said her name made Sakura cringe, the indifference . "Once we get there, we go our separate ways. I never see you again, you never see me again and that will be that. Thanks to you this journey has become a lot more tedious, and has taken twice as long as it needed to be. So no. I don't owe you anything and I will thank you if you stay out of my business." Now Sakura was angry, she felt a cold that had nothing to do with the cool breeze from outside wash over her as Sasuke brushed past her.

"Well excuse me _master_." Sasuke halted in his steps, not prepared for the acid in her voice. He was used to girls fawning over him and obeying what ever he asked. In his pain and exhaustion he had forgotten exactly who he was talking to. Shit.

"Excuse me for caring for your own mental health. Excuse me for feeling your pain as if it was my own and I don't know how to stop it. EXCUSE me," Sakura went on her voice raising, not even looking at him she was so angry, "for thinking you were a decent human being." she ended quietly and left him alone on he second floor, her leg causing her to limp on her way.

Sasuke stood there looking down, his hair shading his eyes in silence. Suddenly he slammed his fist against the wall. "Fuck." he hissed violently, "fuck, fuck, fuck." What was he doing?

XXX

It was difficult not to notice the tension between Sakura and Sasuke the next day. Kakashi and Naruto glanced between the pair with barely hidden curiosity but decided not to answer with Sasukes more than usual stoic face and Sakura's uncharacteristic silence. They had initially decided to spend a couple days at the house in order to take a break and heal up but it seemed for some reason the Undead hoard was tracking their group specifically. Sakura could constantly feel Them and They were getting closer at an alarming rate. With the ocean close by they decided on speed rather than carry all their gathered provisions, taking only what was needed, water and dried food.

They packed up the SUV and piled in. Naruto noted that Sakura sat as far as possible from the brooding Sasuke but said nothing. The tension felt like it would explode if anyone said anything. The pinkette lowered the window and rested her head on her folded arms keeping her face in the wind, it seemed to be the only relief she could get with such close proximity to Sasuke. Almost improbably yet another element had added itself to the inner chaos that was the Uchiha's mind since her 'talk' with him last night. Sakura sighed, 'not my problem.' she reminded herself yet again as Kakashi started up the SUV. She cast her gaze around looking to see if there was anything out there, almost instinctive now after so long surviving in this hell. So close to salvation Sakura could feel her guards begging to fall. 'Not smart.' she thought, 'but can't be helped.' another thought struck her suddenly, one that she had never considered before, not after she met the boys, and certainly not before, 'What will I do?' Sakura suddenly felt scared, the thought of normal society terrified her as much as it appealed to her. How will she fit in, she had changed so much over the year since this hell began, she didn't even recognize herself. Her pink hair fluttered into her line of vision as Kakashi slowed to take a turn. Her hair had grown so quickly it now reached her shoulder blades. She felt like a mix between who she had been and who she was now, it was unpleasant to say the least.

'I can't go back,' She thought suddenly, 'I can never go back. I knew that already so why now?' Sakura let her mind wander as the scenery went by.

XXX

Sasuke was also lost in thought when he felt something was wrong. He blinked, drawn away from a path about the future.

"What the...?" he muttered, he glanced into the rearview mirror to check if the pink haired woman had sensed anything but he saw that she was busy daydreaming, staring out at nothing. He returned his attention to the front when he felt it again. "the hell?"

"What is it Sasuke?" Kakashi asked the younger man, eyeing him warily.

"I don't know..." Sasuke replied frowning, "I sense...something but Sakura doesn't so I don't know." Kakashi slowed the vehicle and pulled his rifle up from beside his seat and handed it to Sasuke.

"Sakura's ability, as far as I can tell, is more situated to things and people she knows. She knows us so she can sense things about us we couldn't even guess." He explained eyeing him again this time with a knowing look. Sasuke huffed and looked away. Kakashi grinned and went on still serious. "She also knows the hoard behind us and not what is ahead of us. Unless whatever it is you are sensing comes close, or affects us directly she wouldn't sense it. You on the other hand," the older man began catching Sasuke by surprise, "Are a solider, you were trained to expect the unexpected, to think ahead and plan around any numbers of potential negative situations. It's no surprise that with your Sharingan you would be able to sense far more than Sakura in terms of ambiguous threats that affect not only you and those around you but all threats towards anybody." Sasuke stared at the elder man completely dumbstruck. Kakashi chuckled, "I've lived a life where I had to see these things in people Sasuke, otherwise how would I be able to train them to be the best soldiers they needed to be? I guess that got enhanced when I was bitten as well."

To change the subject Sasuke hastily asked, "How close are we?" again Kakashi chuckled at the unsettled Uchiha and answered,

"About an hour away, once we leave here and travel the highways and enter the costal town, we'll be fine."

"If you say so," Sasuke replied still feeling uneasy. And suddenly his fears were realized when Sakura sat up shrieking and a corpse fell from the sky.

End of chapter


	9. Ninth Chapter

Welcome to Hell

NG: Okay before I get started. I'm sending HUGE thank you shout out to P i x. FINALLY, SOMEONE WHO KNOWS HOW TO REVIEW! I really appreciated all you wrote and I will take what you said into consideration. Heck I'll even go back and edit the last eight chapters again if it will make it easier for people to read this. I know what you said about long paragraphs but I'm not writing for kids here. I expect my readers to love reading enough not to get intimidated by a paragraph thats longer then four sentences. To me, if the information is related, it goes in the same paragraph. But I will try.

Anyways thanks again I loved reading you review, it was great. I can't do much about spelling mistakes, I can't spot them and I don't use Microsoft Word, the program I am using probably isn't as picky about spelling, plus, (I'm not sure if this is something relevant) I am Canadian and we spell some words up here differently than in America (if that's you basis for spelling and grammar checking though our grammar isn't that different...I'll stop now). Thanks eh?

Ninth Chapter

_Three months later_

Sakura was awake at the crack of dawn. It was a habit she had never been able to shake even now in the safety of Konoha. She had been brought here nearly two and a half months ago near death. Her memory of the past year was gone, what happened, her families death, her survival, even how she had gotten to Konoha was just another mystery to add to the rest. She sat back and watched the grey clouds drift across a pale blue sky.

It was strange, she had commented once when a nurse was drawing blood from her for tests. The only sky she could remember was varying shades of grey and red under a constant overcast of solid clouds. The nurse hadn't commented then but promptly slapped a bandaid on Sakura's arm and scurried from the room with her samples.

Sakura still lived at the hospital. The government was trying to find her a place to live but it was going to take a while. With the sudden influx of refugees the small country had experienced a housing shortage and were quickly building new houses and apartment buildings. At first Sakura was to be billeted with someone, but when news spread that she had been bitten...no one wanted to risk taking her in.

"_It wasn't a bite," Sakura spoke to the doctor and government official as they gave her the news she would be staying in the hospital, "I was scratched."_

"_And how do you know this?" The doctor asked his face suddenly expectant. _

"_Are you serious?" Sakura asked the two, "Really? Jeez just look!" She rolled up her hospital gown sleeve and unwrapped the bandages they had placed around the scar to hide it. She showed them the three long jagged marks on her arm. They doctor and the official both flinched._

"_Does this look like a bite?" she asked them. _

"_How did you get it?" The official asked._

"_I don't remember." Sakura told him. "Just like everything else."_

After the doctor and official left she heard them whispering in the hall. She had very good hearing apparently. She heard the doctor mention PTSD and amnesia due to mental trauma. Somehow, that didn't surprise Sakura very much. Of course she would have PTSD if what she had been told she had lived though was true. An entire year living among the undead, being hunted and almost dieing would be enough to drive anyone insane.

But then again it seemed she wasn't just anybody.

Sakura had arrived in the Land of Fire by helicopter. According to her medical file, which she had stolen from the nurses station, was that she had been found floating in the ocean holding onto a piece of floating debris with third degree burns covering over 60% of her body. Sakura had checked her body after reading this. She had scars from cuts all over her, and that particularly nasty one on her arm from where people assumed she had been bitten. But no burn scars.

Sakura didn't like thinking about it very much. It made her head hurt, another symptom of repressed memories apparently. According to her shrink, whom Sakura hated beyond imagination, it was these suppressed memories that was the key to her amnesia. If she could jus release the suppression on them, then she should be able to remember everything.

"_Yeah like I want to..."_ Sakura had told her shrink and left his office.

But now it seemed she didn't have a choice.

As Sakura sat up in bed that morning she rubbed her head. A small throbbing was there just behind her eyes. Lately she had been having strange dreams, she couldn't remember any of them except for some blurs and incomplete sentences. She could also remember the feelings she had gotten from the dreams. Fear, joy, sadness...the last one was the strongest. This made Sakura think it was related to her most recent past. A pure, debilitating, sorrow.

'It might be that memory I'm suppressing,' Sakura thought, rubbing her eyes. Despite what she had told her shrink, Sakura did want to remember what she went through. She really wanted to remember. Because her current memory of herself over a year ago, a happy, giggly girl and fluff, just didn't match the hard muscled, lean, sharp and cynical woman she was today.

Unfortunately, she had another appointment with the shrink today. Joy. But then maybe she could get some answers. Double joy.

Sakura flopped back down onto her pillow and groaned, pressing the heels of her palms into her eyes to try and get rid of that annoying throbbing. She lifted her hands and turned to look out at the sky once more. More clouds had rolled in and it looked like it was about to rain... 'just like...' she thought then suddenly the pain spiked. And image flashed through her mind.

_A lone fire on a hill. Three men sat around it. She couldn't see their faces and their forms were blurry. It was night and the wind was cold. Two of the men laughed and joked with one another, talking to her, she couldn't make out what they were saying, the wind was too loud. The third man didn't say anything. He wasn't even looking at her but deep into the fire. She said something and he suddenly looked up at her._

Then is was gone.

Sakura opened her eyes, she was lying on the cold floor, her face inches from the wall under her window. She was cold as her sweat soaked skin was in contact with the linoleum floor.

'Did I remember something?' she thought, her mind was racing. The pain in her head slowly subsided into that soft throbbing. Sakura didn't mind that anymore. It meant she was beginning to remember.

XXX

Sakura had just pulled on her short leather jacket when her door burst open. Sakura dived for a gun she didn't have before realizing it was just Ino.

Yamanaka Ino, was a blond volunteer Sakura had come to know at the hospital. The blue eyed Konoha native had taken Sakura under her wing even before Sakura had woken up from her coma three weeks after being rescued. Frankly Sakura thought she was a bit annoying but at least Ino didn't flinch when Sakura was around. Even after the news of her 'bite' spread, Ino waved off the rumours and pretended that they didn't exist. "What do they know." become her mantra.

Ino didn't even blink when as Sakura straightened herself and mad sure that the short sleeves of the jacket still covered her scar. The blond was holding a large box.

"Check it out Sakura!" Ino grinned wide, "They finally released your things!" Sakura's eyes widened in surprise. All items and clothes she had on her when she was found had been confiscated and placed in an isolated lab to be tested and disinfected. The government here was taking no chances it seemed. Sakura had almost given up hope of ever seeing her things again.

"About time," She replied indicating Ino to place the box on the bed. Ino did and began opening the box.

"Maybe there's something int here that could help you remember." The blond commented on hopefully. Sakura didn't say anything but she secretly agreed. After her episode this morning, she was eager to remember more.

"Yes, hopefully they will trigger something in your subconscious." Came a voice from the door. Sakura and Ino turned to look. Sakura flinched. It was her shrink...Dr. Orochimaru. His pale skin and long black hair made him look like a drowned corpse, something Sakura figured she now had an eternal knee jerk reaction to hating on sight. Behind him was the head of the hospital and city mayor Tsunade, whom Sakura liked very much in fact. The older blond woman smiled encouragingly.

"We just received word you got your things back and wanted to be on hand in case you remembered anything." She said. Sakura nodded her head in thanks ans finished opening the box as the others came in.

She was suddenly nervous. Her hands shook.

"Take you time my dear," Orochimaru said gently, "Take your time." Sakura took a deep breath and reached into the box.

Her hand met soft fabric and she pulled out a black zip up hooded sweater. It was ragged and was full of rips and holes. It smelled strongly of the disinfectant used by the lab and Sakura felt her nose wrinkle.

"What a rag." Ino said. Sakura rolled her eyes and folded the sweater. She had a strange attachment to the shredded garment and planned on fixing it up if she could. She reached in again and drew out a long hunting knife. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Ino flinch and Orochimaru stared intently at her and the knife waiting to see her reaction to it.

Sakura drew the knife from it's beaten leather sheath and watched the light reflect off the polished blade. She had taken good care of this knife. Why?

"_I noticed you don't have a close quarters weapon." an older man said to Sakura as they walked down a highway. Sakura glanced at him but the sun was in her eyes._

"_No but I have used my rifle as a club it I had to." she told him. The older man looked thoughtful. "Although that is effective, I'm guessing your rifle is a bit awkward when used in such a fashion. Not to mention the damage it must receive after a time." Sakura blinked as he handed her a long hunting knife from his belt. _

"_Take this," He said, "It'll do you better."_

"_Are you sure?" Sakura asked the silver haired man, "I noticed to take special care of this one."_

"_I was my fathers." he replied._

"_What?" Sakura was taken aback, "But then I can't..."_

"_Take it," The silver man said again, "It'll do you more good them me."_

"_But..." She protested as she took the knife._

"_It's alright Sakura-chan!" Another of the men called from up front his voice was happy and she could tell without looking he was ginning, "He wouldn't give it to you unless he really wanted to. Plus he knows a lot more about combat than any of us combined."_

_Sakura blushed and looked down. "Thank you." she muttered._

"This was a gift, I think." Sakura told them, 'that's right.' she thought, 'One of them had silver hair.'

"It was given to me by a friend." she went on.

"Is this friend dead or alive?" Tsunade asked quietly.

"I don't know." Sakura answered truthfully and felt a pang of sorrow. She placed the knife back in it's sheath and clipped it to her belt, much to Inos' displeasure.

Next Sakura pulled out a pair of black cotton pants. Like the sweater, they were in deplorable condition and she put them down quickly.

'Where's my bag?' Sakura thought. She looked around the box in case it had fallen out without anyone noticing but didn't see one.

"What are you looking for Sakura?" Orochimaru asked.

"My bag," She replied, "I had a shoulder bag that I wore across my chest." she paused and frowned. "No, I did have one. But I threw it away. It was slowing me down. I took it off and threw it away so I could run faster." the throbbing in her head began again. She rubbed her forehead.

"Sakura what's wrong?" Ino asked.

"I don't know," Sakura said, "my head just hurts a bit."

"Maybe we should stop." Tsunade suggested.

"No!" Sakura exclaimed, surprising them all. "I have to remember, I have to!" Tsunade placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Why Sakura?" Tsunade looked at the pink haired woman, a little nervous. In the months since Sakura had come here she had never raised her voice.

"I don't know!" Sakura cried, "But I have to. It's important!"

"Okay," Ino shushed Sakura soothingly, "Okay, lets take it slow Sakura. Lets take a breather and let me know if your head gets any worse okay?" Sakura took another deep breath and nodded. She couldn't stop. Not now.

Why?

What was so important?

Sakura turned back to the box and pulled out the last item. A pair of tarnished dog tags on a broken chain. Blood stained the chain and tags both. Sakura froze. Her head began to pound.

"Sakura?" Ino prodded, worry evident on her face.

"These aren't mine." Sakura whispered, as she fingered the chain and held the dog tags up to the weak light. Outside it began to rain.

Sakura could see her eyes eyes reflect in the tarnished metal. The name engraved into the dog tags were difficult to read. She placed them in her palm and began to rub away the blood obscuring the name.

"What do you mean they're not yours?" Tsunade asked, "Did the lab make a mistake?" She looked over at Orochimaru who shrugged.

"Things happen." He replied, "Could be a mix up."

Sakura wasn't listening. She was beginning to see the name.

"Couldn't be." Ino chimed in, "Its noted in the log. See?" She showed the doctors a sheet of paper.

"_Hey, you okay?" a deep voice spoke behind her and Sakura turned. Behind her stood the third man. He had pale skin and dark hair. And even darker eyes that she knew turned red. _

"_I'm sorry," She told him as she hurriedly wiped her eyes. She had been crying by herself as the group had taken a break to drink, eat and take naps. She could see the blond happy man the the silver haired older man napping beneath a had been walking almost non-stop since Tokyo, eager to leave the dead infested city behind them. They didn't sleep because they were so exposed in the open and didn't want to risk getting jumped unawares at night. It was hard on her._

"_Che, typical." he muttered behind her. Sakura raised an eyebrow and glared at the man._

"_Excuse me?" she asked. The man rolled his eyes and looked away from her._

"_I said it's typical. As soon as life just gets a little difficult, you break down and cry. This is why I was against a woman joining us in the first place."_

"_Excuse me?" Sakura was shocked. Who did this guy think he is? "Well I'm sorry mister solider. If my poor weak body is unable to keep up with your super stamina just because I spent the last six months NOT getting bitten." The man twitched. "I just had to survive all on my own without anyone to help me in the wilderness all alone in constant fear, without anyone watching my back." She stood up and jabbed him in the chest with a finger, "So excuse me, for being exhausted, excuse me for being relieved to finally be among fellow human who aren't trying to eat me, and excuse me for being girl, jack ass!"_

_The man through out all this just remained impassive as Sakura ranted at him for being a misogynistic pig and so on. And when she was done he nodded._

"_Okay then, now that you've got that out of your system lets get moving." he told her and turned to leave. Sakura stared after him._

"_What?" she called after him. He glanced over his shoulder and caught her eyes with his. Sakura blushed._

"_That's the kind of attitude we need to survive out here, now I know you have it. And besides, don't you feel better?" and he left her. _

_Sakura flushed red, "What just happened?"_

Sakura had just finished cleaning off the blood and read the name when she felt her heart thud. Suddenly all the pain in her head just vanished and was replaced with absolute numbness. She began to shake and tears gathered at her eyes.

"Oh my God." She gasped her breath caught in her throat catching the others attention. Hot tears spilled from her eyes, tracing the contours of her face and landing on the dog tags. Sorrow engulfed her and she collapsed her knees, sobbing and screaming.

"Sakura!" Ino cried and knelt be her friend who was screaming over and over again.

"NO! NO, NO, NO!" Sakura was out of control.

"Sakura what's wrong?" Tsunade joined Ino in front of the grief stricken girl. She grabbed Sakura's shoulder and gave her a shake. "What's wrong?"

Sakura seemed to come to for a moment. Her breathing was shallow as she gasped for air. She shook uncontrollably and her eyes were wide and unseeing. Her voice was hoarse as she whispered.

"They're dead...oh god they're dead." and she collapsed once more into tears, Ino took her hand and gently unclasped Sakura's fingers from the dog tags. Ino grabbed them and read the name.

Uchiha Sasuke

End of Chapter

(please don't hate me)


	10. Tenth Chapter

Welcome to Hell

Again, another shout out to P i x. I freaking love your reviews. They make me want to write more just to shut you up and make you say -perfect-. Wanna be my beta?

Tenth Chapter

_Four months ago – after the escape from the hospital_

"_Hey." Sakura called out to the brooding Uchiha. He turned his head slightly to look at her. His bangs shadowed his eyes but Sakura didn't need to see them to know what she would see. "How are your eyes?"_

_Sasuke flinched and quickly looked away. Sakura smiled and sat down behind him. Her back thumping against his. She expected him to move away from her but was surprised when he didn't._

"_I hate them sometimes." She heard him mutter. "These eyes, all they tell me is that I'm no longer human."_

"_Your still human." Sakura replied closing her eyes. She let down her mental barriers and expanded her senses. "I can feel it," She opened her eyes, "You are definitely human. Probably more so than any of us."_

"_Ha," Sasuke chuckled, his expression dark, "How human can I be, compared to you?"_

_Sakura thought for a while before answering, "Because Naruto, Kakashi and I have hardened ourselves to this world. We ignore the horrors around us in order to remain sane. Slowly we become desensitized and forget what it means to be human because of our apathy." _

"_That doesn't answer my question." Sasuke said. Sakura rolled her eyes and shifted herself so that she kneeled in front of Sasuke. She placed her hands on either side of his downturned face and gently lifted his head so she could see his eyes. His blood red eyes._

_Sakura felt herself falling then. The world around her disappeared, fading gently into the depths of that beautiful red. _

"_Careful." Sasuke warned her. He gripped her wrists gently and closed his eyes snapping Sakura back to the present. "I don't know what affect these eyes have on the living." Sakura blinked to clear her mind._

"_Why are you more human than me?" She began once she was steady. "That's simple." Sasuke opened his eyes and looked away but Sakura refused to let him and moved her head to catch his eyes again. This time she was prepared for Sasukes eyes and though her head spun a bit she kept her grip on reality. "Because humanities greatest strength is to adapt. No matter what." Sasuke blinked._

"_I _enjoyed _it." He protested, "I enjoyed fighting those things, I love this world. I love being the predator and watching my prey fall to my blade."_

"_You adapted." Sakura reminded him, "Naruto, Kakashi and I didn't. We refused to. And look at us! Barley surviving. But you accepted it all! You adapted to become the top predator to survive! As strange as it sounds, and as much as we would want to deny it...there's nothing more human than that."_

_Sasuke was quiet after that. This in itself was nothing unusual but Sakura knew he was thinking it over._

"_I remember the first time I saw your eyes." She smiled, "I don't think you had realized it then. It was when we first met."_

"_You had a gun pointed st my head. And I looked up and saw your eyes. They were glowing red then. I thought it was a trick of the light. But then I realized the fire was behind you and I knew. But you know what?" Sakura paused. She knew she had his attention. This new ability of hers was handy. "I didn't care. If it helped me live I was all for it. But I am so glad you have it. It means you will survive. You will live."_

_Sasuke leaned forward suddenly, until his head rested on her chest. Sakura was slightly taken aback and she blushed lightly. Cautiously she wrapped her arms around his shoulders in a comforting hold._

"_Sakura," She felt more than heard. "Thank you."_

_XXX_

_Fire. It was everywhere. She was in so much pain. Sakura stumbled from the demolished building. Her skin was red and blistered. Her arm, inexplicably, was bleeding again. The hole in her leg was bleeding profusely. She was in shock, her clothes were torn and it was hard to breath. Her bloody hand was clenched tightly on something metal. She stumbled away from the burning building. She couldn't even look behind her. She didn't know where she was, or what she was doing. She didn't even know how long she had been walking. Five minutes, ten? She just had to keep walking._

_'Why?'_

_Her foot hit something and she fell to her knees hard. Her hand snapped out to catch he balance. The impact drove whatever was in her hand in even deeper, drawing fresh blood. _

_The swooshing sound in her ears, at first she had thought it was the sound of her heart. But it was too slow to be her the smell of salt reached her nose. It took another couple minutes for Sakura to realize where she was._

_'The ocean?' she thought dimly. Why was that so important? Her head lolled, and the world spun. Her eyes landed on her bleeding hand attached to her bleeding arm._

_Red, blood red._

_Red eyes._

"_Sasuke-kun?" she whispered, her voice hoarse. Who was that? She blinked and nausea rose. She couldn't stop it and was sick. Bile corroded her already damaged throat as her head throbbed._

_'Concussion' reasoned that cool part of her mind that seemed to be apart from her current disoriented state. _

_There was a shuffling sound behind her and Sakura turned slowly, out of instinct she straighten her self to stand. Her crippled leg shook with the effort._

_The half burnt corpse was still on fire. It's steps were uncertain from all the damage it had taken. A black skull peaked out from seared flesh and bone teeth gnashed as it stretched its hand towards her. Sakura stepped back without thinking. Her only thought was of wanting to get away from that thing and it's reach. Sakura felt nothing but air beneath her foot. She fell back. Her mind not even registering she was falling. The corpse in front of her faltered and fell short of touching her._

_It took her a few seconds to realize something was wrong. The waves below her got louder as they slapped against the wharf Sakura and her friends had found themselves at after escaping the SUV._

_'We were so close," Sakura thought, her eyes tearing up as she gazed up at the clouded sky. That was the last thing she knew before she hit the water logged wooden door with a loud crack. Her head felt as if it would split. Red flash across her vision before it went black. That oh so beloved, blood red._

_XXX_

Sakura sat out on the pier, three months after she escaped the burning warehouse. Konoha truly was the salvation of mankind. The wind was kind and gentle, the sun shone weakly through the light cloud cover. Children played and laughed. Adults went about their business chatting without care. Two blocks away to the south, a teenage gushed to her best friend about how her crush smiled at her at school yesterday. A mother bought her five year old daughter an ice cream four blocks to Sakura's left. The picture perfect world.

And it was all wrong.

After the life she had lived the last year, and the people she knew, befriended...loved. Everything in this paradise seemed overly bright. It was a facade. A play, put on by the inhabitants to deny what happened , what is happening, out in the world. And by God she hated it all. Were all the people here blind? In denial? Didn't they even wonder if maybe...

'Is there anyone else?' Sakura wondered as the wind blew her hair, which now touched the bottom of her shoulder blades, out of her face. 'Anyone else out there who, like I was, struggling day by day to survive without any knowledge of this haven?' she closed her eyes and felt a single tear escape her control to fall down her face.

'Or are there others, like my boys, desperately searching for a way to get here.'

"Sasuke-kun." She whispered as she touched the dog tags she now wore around her slender neck.

_They were breathing hard. Sakura's knee had given out again and she leaned heavily on Sasukes chest, trying to regain her balance._

"_Shit," She muttered, glaring down at her leg, "I hope this isn't a chronic injury." _

"_Quiet," Sasuke hissed sharply. His eyes glaring red once more. "I'm trying to listen. Can you sense anything?"_

_Sakura resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Yes, we're all in mortal peril." Sasuke glared at her._

"_Are you fucking serious? This is no time to be joking."_

"_I'm not." Sakura gritted out, "I can sense locations and basic well being of people I know! Not the dead. If I remember correctly that your specialty!" Sasuke narrowed his eyes and looked away. Sakura sighed and closed her eyes trying to locate Kakashi and Naruto. She couldn't find them, either they were too far away or..._

_No. They got away. Before escaping the totalled SUV, they had all sworn that if opportunity appeared, that they would make a break for the water, regardless of the position, or condition, of the others. No one was happy of agreeing to that, but understood that if they lay there dying, they would want the others to escape rather than risk dying trying to rescue the incapacitated. And so they agreed._

Sakura regretted bitterly that the last moments she had with Sasuke her last words to him, was an argument.

_Out of no where a pole came flying out of the dark and pierced Sakura's leg. She screamed as the wall behind Sasuke bulged and a clawed hand came through. It gripped Sasuke neck and he let go of Sakura, shoving her away from him as the monster did it's best to drag him through the wall. Sakuras' fingers caught on the fine chain Sasuke wore his dog tags on and snapped the chain. She fell awkwardly, shoving the pole the rest of the way through. Sakura reached down with a shaking hand and pulled the red painted pole out of her leg. She reach for Sasukes dropped handgun and swung it around to fire at the things hand._

_Three bullets lodged in the monsters rotting arm, splattering Sasukes face with it's putrid blood. The wall caved. Sasuke couldn't reach his sword, he was to busy stopping the monster from snapping his neck._

"_Go!" He yelled at her, his eyes blazing as the tomoe began to spin. "Forget me! You promised!" _

_Sakura sobbed. Shaking her head and crying her heart out she began to crawl away and around a gapping hole in the rotted floor. She dragged her lame leg behind her, leaving a trail of blood streaked in the dust._

_Another hand, swollen and fetid reached up from the hole and gripped Sakura's ankle. She shrieked as she was dragged towards the hole. _

"_Sakura!" She heard Sasuke yell before his voice was drowned out by the unearthly howl of the creature that gripped him. Sakura scrabbled for anything to stop her from falling into the hole. Her nails furrowed the wood and broke causing yet another injury. In spite of her best efforts, she fell._

'I fell a lot that day.' Sakura thought to herself as she meandered her way through the crowd. It would be Christmas soon. But in the Land of Fire, there was no snow. There hasn't been snow in the world for over a year. 'I miss snow.' She looked up into the sky. 'Did you like the snow?' she thought to her friends. 'Did you miss it like I do?'

"Sakura!"

Sakura looked behind her. Ino was running up to her. Behind Ino was a shy girl named Hinata. Hinata was another volunteer at the hospital. Sakura stopped and waited for the pair to catch up. Ino carried what seemed to be a hundred shopping bags while dragging the winded Hinata behind her. The violet haired girl was flushed from exertion and breathed a little heavy.

"What's in there?" Sakura asked, prodding one of Inos bags.

"Gifts." Ino said with a shrug. "It is the season." the blond girl looped her arm through one of Sakuras' and began to propel the pink haired woman down a side street away from the crowds. Hinata followed closely,

"Hinata wasn't finished her shopping so I offered to help."

"Did you buy anything Hinata?" Sakura asked the girl, already guessing her friends' reply.

Hinata giggled. "No, but Ino was so excited I just, let her go." She said in her quiet voice.

"Really Ino?" Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Yes, yes well my dear I have a question for you?" The blond said eyeing her new friend with sharp eyes. Sakura blinked then cried out as Ino whisked away holding Sakuras' dagger in her hand.

'When did she?' Sakura thought as she checked her belt. The daggers sheath was empty.

"What did I tell you about carrying this thing around?" Ino demanded frowning with real anger at her pink haired friend.

"Ino," Hinata whispered warningly.

"Give it back." Sakura said. Her voice deceptively calm. She held out her hand for Ino to give her back the knife.

"No." Ino snapped. "Why do you carry this _thing_ around? Sure it belonged to friend of yours. I get that. It's important to you, but to carry it outside? In public?"

"Ino," Sakura growled.

"What would people would think?" Ino raged on, "I mean my god. I can't imagine what this knife touched." as she said it, she shifted her grip to hold the knife between two fingers. As if it was a dirty rag she wouldn't let in her house.

Sakura dropped all pretence of the mask she had worn around Ino and Hinata in the days after she regained her memory.

"And those!" Ino cried pointing at the dog tags Sakura wore around her neck, now she had gotten on a roll. Only hell could stop her now. "A dead mans memento? How morbid! Really Sakura what is wrong with you? It's disgusting-" Ino never got to finish that sentence. Mostly because Sakura had her pinned to the wall. Kakashi's knife back in her hand, and her arm cradling Inos head as Sakura leaned close. Her eyes turning into hard jade with her anger.

"Disgusting?" Sakura whispered, "My friends sacrifice is disgusting to you?" Ino flinched at Sakuras' cold voice. "How dare you speak of what you don't know. How dare you comment, and criticize how I choose to honour my friends memory." Sakura was numb, her anger was so strong.

"You said you couldn't imagine," She continued. Hinata shook just at the edge of Sakura's eyesight. Let her hear. They both needed to understand. "You were right. How could you even begin to imagine, what I witnessed? What I went through? While you were here, safe in your beds, isolated from the hell surrounding you. I was killing my own family." Ino's eyes went wide. "My best friend tried to rip my throat out before I shot her in the head. You watched it all happen form a T.V. Screen while I lived it. And for a year you volunteered, helping the evacuees who were lucky enough to escape without any real damage. And for that year I survived by killing. By being hunted. By witnessing and doing things no human should have to do."

"So guess what princess heres a little dose of reality. I am very different from those untested refugees you met before me. If I don't fit into your happy little box of the world, you better damn well know there's a reason why. I'm fucked up. I'm fucked up real bad. And these people?" Sakura indicated Sasuke's dog tags with Kakashi's knife, "and the one other who I don't have something to honour him by? They were just as fucked up as I am, but they were my family Ino!" Sakura didn't realize the hot tears were once more falling down her face, "They were my family. I lost my family twice to that hell, while you got to live here. Safe and happy. So don't you fucking dare, talk to me about what people think. Because I don't give a shit." and with that she let Ino go. Without looking back, she walked past Hinata, who was still staring at where Ino was, shaking against the wall. At the end of the side street, before Sakura rejoined the crowed. Sakura stopped and called back to them.

"I know why you didn't shy away when it became known I was contaminated Ino." Sakura grinned, her face becoming cruel with mirth. "I bet that first wave of people had some cuts and scars. Probably bragged about surviving a bite just to impress a pretty girl like you." Images of Sasukes' carefully masked face as his eyes burned red flashed through her minds eye. Naruto, rubbing his head sheepishly after he preformed an amazing feat of strength, his eyes giving away his own fear of himself. Kakashis' shrug as he foresaw danger three miles down the road. Her own ability to sense and locate. The feeling of being a monster.

"Guess what honey. If they had really been bitten, they wouldn't have been bragging about it."

_There was so much fire._

End of Chapter

Yeah I know Sakura's blow up at Ino was a bit random. But hey, remember shes traumatized and already stressed and pissed off at blatant denial and ignorance of the outside world surrounding her. Ino was just the last straw.


	11. Eleventh Chapter

Welcome to Hell

Eleventh Chapter

Ino sat bored out of her mind at the reception desk. After her blow out with Sakura a month ago, she had one to Tsunade to complain. Well, Tsunade decided to rip her a new as well and stuck her on reception duty to 'straighten her up and make her think about being an idiot for a while' not exactly her words but same meaning.

"Gaaaaaa!" Ino leaned back heavily in her office chair and ran both her hands through her hair. She was bored out of her bloody mind! Nothing happened here! She was stuck manning the desk of the Refugee Isolation and Contamination Center. A section of the hospital that had been unused since Sakura came to Konoha.

Not that Ino thought she didn't deserve being here. She will admit she had been a bit of a bitch…well a real bitch. But that knife…

Sakura had shattered Ino's understanding of the world. Every word the rosette had all but yelled at her rang true, though Ino hadn't wanted to admit it at the time. Sakura was right. How could Ino criticize her? How could Ino even pretend to understand what Sakura had gone though, let alone what she was feeling?

But she had been scared. The knife scared her, it was a symbol of a world Ino had tried her best to passively pretend didn't exist. And she had done her best to force Sakura to forget that world too. But to forget that world, meant forgetting the friends and family who had died. Ino got that now. No. No she didn't. Ino didn't want to be so presumptuous anymore. When she was done with her punishment, and Sakura had been given time to cool down and forgive her, Hinata was working on that for her, Ino would apologize and do her best to understand. It was all she could do, as someone who was sheltered from the horror of a year ago, all she could do was listen.

"Oh Sakura I am so sorry." She whispered to the empty lobby. The phone ringing broke her from her reverie and Ino quickly sprang forward. Fear squeezed her heart. The RAES called here when they returned from patrolling the area around the infected zone. Usually they called to report that no one had been injured but the phone ringing still stabbed Ino every time with worry. It had only gotten worse when she had been told Sakura had decided to join the RAES.

She picked up the phone quickly, "RICC." She told into the handset pulling a pad of paper to her and picking up a pen. "No injuries on any personnel? No. Okay." She scribbled this down for official reports later. "Wait what?" Ino felt the blood drain from her face. "Yes sir, I will inform Lady Tsunade myself. Yes sir." She hung up and wrote fast. Quickly she snatched up the phone again and hit the speed dial.

"Lady Tsunade, I have word from the latest patrol. Yes ma'am everyone's fine. Ma'am I'm calling because the impossible has happened again. Yes ma'am. The patrol found survivors."

XXX

Ino stood nervously with two other volunteers as doctors, suited in HAZMAT suits buzzed around awaiting the new survivors. This was her first time seeing Unknowns. Unknowns were people who arrived at the RICC before isolation. She gripped her hands together until her knuckles turned white and sweat dripped from her forehead. Tension was crackling in the air, Ino could practically taste it.

There was a flurry of activity outside and Ino shot up in her chair, almost seriously straining her back. An armed escort lined up from the van with blacked out windows parked outside to the door. The door to the van opened and two more armed escorts exited, scanning the area before three men covered in Lord knows what followed behind. They entered the building and the three men were split to one volunteered. Ino got the last man with dead looking eyes. His black hair was long and unkempt, his pale skin hidden under layers of blood and dirt.

"Okay," She told him gently with a kind smile, "My name is Ino and I have to ask some questions before you are escorted to the Isolation room." The man nodded. Ino blinked and hurriedly began writing. She was filling in the obvious questions that she didn't have to ask to be answered. Physical description, sex and so on.

"Age?"

"23" he answered. His voice was deliciously deep. Startled she looked up. He wasn't facing her but rather keeping an eye on his companions. Out of habit it seemed. Ino swallowed and looked at him more closely. Underneath the grime and dirt, she squinted as she observed him and well damn he was gorgeous.

She coughed delicately in order to regain his attention. She smiled coyly, "and you name?" He ignored her advances completely and answered bluntly. Ino froze. 'Impossible' she thought, her eyes wide. She almost dropped her pen. One of the doctors came up and gently laid his hand on the dead mans shoulder.

"This way sir." The man nodded and went with the doctor. He passed her silently; his long black leather coat flowed behind him. The other two men, one still badly injured, had already been escorted to the isolation rooms.

Ino spun sharply and stared after the man as he calmly handed over his handgun and katana to a solider. She stared at the unbelievable. She was absolutely stunned.

"Oh my God." She whispered, 'Uchiha Sasuke.'

4 months ago

The moon shone dimly through the thick overcast. It's light diffused and it barely offered any scant light to the desolate world below. But it was enough for him. He embraced the dark, letting it seep into his soul to join the growing pool of apathy deep within him. He reached out and touched the rough bark of the enormous pine tree. He and his two surviving companions were hiding in a giant forest near the docks. He had escaped the carnage with only minor injuries but his blond friend wasn't so lucky. He was in bad shape. Kakashi didn't know if Naruto would survive. Sasuke gritted his teeth, his eyes bled red and he dug his fingers into the unyielding bark. Everything was collapsing, falling and rotting around him. And he couldn't stop it. He couldn't do anything about it. His best friend was dying. His sensei, as he now recognized, was in bad shape.

And Sakura…

_He could feel the murderous intent of the beast blossom suddenly and without warning behind him. He didn't think all he cared about was the safety of the injured woman clinging to him. Her leg was shaking from landing badly when they had jumped through a shattered window to escape the current hoard chasing them. Well, rather her. _

_Sasuke had glanced at her, regretting his harsh words moments before. He was stressed, obviously, and had snapped out at her without thinking. Not smart but it wasn't like she was making this easy for him. He shoved Sakura away from his as far as he could a split second before the scaly claws of the beast gripped his neck through the hole it had punched in the wall. Sasuke barley registered the fact Sakura had a pole sticking through her leg. He hadn't heard her cry out in pain. _

_He did feel the chain holding his dog tags strain as Sakura accidently hooked on to them as she fell. The chain spanned and Sakura clutched the thin pieced of steel. Her landing drove the pole the rest of the way through her leg, spraying blood everywhere. _

_The beast hissed and began trying to pull him thought the wall. Sasuke dropped his sword and did his best to pry the hand from his neck to go to Sakura. Three shots rang out and warm black blood splattered Sasukes' face. Sakura had shot the things hand. He looked at her, noted her fierce, if desperate, expression. Blood pooled from her leg, she wouldn't be able to walk, but the wound wasn't too bad._

"_Go! He yelled to her. "You promised!"_

He had only cared about her safety, only wanted her to live. But life was fucked up that way. He never got what he wanted, only ironies. He had wanted her to survive. He lived, she didn't.

Behind him, the horizon burned red. The fire that the explosion started was still raging. Sasukes eyes narrowed, his fingers curled into a fist. He punched the tree, venting his frustration and despair through the motion of his muscles, the throbbing of his knuckles, this stinging of his skin, splitting on the bark.

_The monster had dragged him through the wall; Sakura was out of his sight. He couldn't stand not seeing her, not having her under his protective gaze. Without him to look out for her, she would undoubtedly, or trouble would find her either way. Panic welled up. He needed to get back to her. Needed to protect her. How he hated the thing behind him, the monster trying to crack his neck and crush his spine. It was keeping him from Sakura. And for that reason alone it had to die. _

_Sasukes eyes glowed, his grip on the things hands tightened. He felt joints pop, heard bones grind, and felt more blood dot his face. He pressed tighter, the thing didn't feel pain, but it noticed its hands weren't working right. It relaxed its grip just a fraction and that was all Sasuke needed. Sasuke ripped the monsters hands from his throat. At that moment he heard Sakuras scream._

_Sakura…his mind went blank. Sasuke launched himself through the hole five feet away, completely forgetting the monster behind him. "Sakura!" He yelled out to her, needing to hear her reply, for the sake of his sanity. He missed his jump slightly and caught the edge of the hole, creating a loud crash. The sound caught the monsters attention; it had momentarily been distracted by the girls scream. Now it lumbered after the stunned man, hungry for it's prey. _

_Sasuke stared blankly at the floor, Sakura's blood lest a clear trail on the debris-ridden floor. He followed it to the gaping hole in the rotten wood and searched the impenetrable darkness for any sign of his pink haired companion. He yelled and called her name. The panic in him peaked. _

'_No.' he whispered and his world came crashing down around him. His blood roared in his ears, his breathing became erratic. He ran his hand through his hair and grasped on to the roots attempting to bring him back to reality. The monsters growl is what brought him back. Reality hit him light a war hammer, driving him into a state of surrealism. Unable to cope with the sudden lost him mind went into auto drive, his conscious drifting away into oblivion. He stared at the monster, his panic a dim memory, Sakuras scream, though, still echoed in his head as loud as ever. Always will now, he supposed. It was his last thought for a while. _

Sasukes next memory was the explosion rocketing through his head and the stinging on his face as Kakashi slapped him again to wake him up from his stupor. When his eyes had come into focus Sasuke was holding the monsters head by the hair. The things face contorted in fear and rage as its blood dripping continually from it's sever neck. Sasuke was covered in gore his black clothes caked in blood and filth.

He had been dimly aware of Kakashi calling his name and of Naruto's groans of pain. The boy could barley walk. Sasuke could only stare at the burning inferno that was Sakura's funeral pier, wishing he could join her, but knowing he couldn't. He had to take care of Naruto. Kakashi looking to injured to survive and take care of Naruto by himself. The responsibility fell on him, and Sakura, Sasuke knew, would have wanted him to live.

But even now Sasuke wanted to die. His knuckles bleeding, his teeth throbbing, his mind numb he didn't want to feel anything at all. It was amazing to him, when he had first met Sakura she had been baggage just another person to keep alive. A little girl with a sob story. Then she had talked to him. Comforted him when he doubted his humanity. She had seen him at his worst. Seen his eyes, heard his lies of disgust and felt his joy that was the truth, and accepted him. In that moment he could almost forgive himself, could almost call him human again. She had become everything to him in the span of a few minutes. And now she was gone. And only now was he realizing all this. His hits against the tree became weaker as his despair began to overwhelm him.

He stopped hitting and his forehead thumped against the tree next to his fist. The wind picked up and cooled his fevered skin. He listened to his breathing as he attempted to combat his growing sorrow.

"Fuck," he said to himself, sinking to his knees, in so little time. She had affecting him this much. Changed him this much. "Fuck."

Kakashi watched the young Uchiha as he struggled with his guilt. Though Kakashi was certain there was more then just guilt spawning in the young man. Emotions were a foreign territory and this Sasuke had to journey alone. Kakashi was dealing with his own grief anyways. They hadn't told Naruto the news, mainly because he wasn't conscious long enough for them to tell him. Their rout to the ocean was caught off. Even if they could dodge the hoard enough to get to the ocean. It would take to long to find a boat and that hoard was growing. Naruto being injured didn't help. Even with the pact they had all sworn too, Sakuras death was too hard a blow. Kakashi couldn't bear to leave another behind…like his wife.

'Rin,' he thought suddenly with a stab of pain. The thought of his dead wife was not one he could face right now, not one he could face for an entire year. He would have to one day, but not here, and certainly not now. He placed the thoughts of Sakura away in the same corner where he kept memories of Rin. With one last glance at the grieving man, Kakashi turned back to the dying blond behind him. He was relatively sure he could save him.

XXX

A month later Sasuke was cleaving his way through yet another hoard to reach a desolate hospital. Somehow they always grouped around hospitals, why hospitals? 'Because they're evolving and getting smarter.' He reminded himself.

He was cold and efficient. Taking risks he wouldn't have a month ago he was ruthless. He cut a path to the doors a sped into the building. Only for his friend was Sasuke even attempting this. It had nothing to do with the fact that he wanted this. Noting to do with the fact he wanted to kill, to cleave, to feel his blade cut through rotting flesh and brittle bone. He wanted to let his eyes turn red and bathe in the blood of the Undead, of course not.

But oh how he despised them. How Sasuke hated and loathed the walking corpses that had taken everything from him. He had lost his family then found Sakura. Was there no pity? Could he have not had her? No. They had to take her away as well and for that he would make them pay. And so he killed and killed, again and again losing himself in the art of death.

He made it to the doors and walked in passively, completely ignoring the small clumps of bones scattered around the lobby. His footsteps were silent out of habit rather than any real regard for his safety. He no longer cared.

Back at camp Kakashi was awaiting the young Uchihas return. He would have gone with him but he needed to keep and eye on Naruto whose recuperation was worryingly slow. Kakashi didn't want to leave the young man alone; he had changed since Sakura died. Naruto was worried about their friend as well. Sasuke barley spoke anymore and it had been Naruto who drew Kakashi to Sasukes new recklessness.

"You should have gone with him Kakashi." Naruto told the older man from his place by the fire. He was laying down on order to preserve his strength.

Kakashi shook his head, "No, I can't leave you on your own, if anything attacked the camp while both of us were gone you would be dead in a heart beat."

"Only if I make a sound," Naruto replied with a sigh.

"We can trust Sasuke." Kakashi said shrugging. "He will come back to us."

"For how long?" Naruto questioned quietly. Kakashi closed his one visible eye in a sort of defeat. "Sakuras' death took something from him. And only now he realizes what she meant to him."

"Naruto," Kakashi gently interrupted the blond. "Whatever Sasuke decides I doubt we could do anything to stop him." A tear rolled down Naruto's cheek.

"I can't lose them both Kakashi. I can't lose my family again." He whispered. His throat choked up with emotion. Kakashi said nothing but pulled out a map and began trying to locate a new path to the ocean. He left Naruto to cry in privacy and listened to the darkness, listening and waiting for signs of Sasuke coming back to them.

XXX

Three months later

Kakashi pushed Sasuke against the wall, his hands fisting the passive mans shirt and lifted him up, grinding Sasukes back into broken brick and mortar.

"Are you finished yet?" Kakashi growled at him. "Have you satisfied your courtship with death?" Sasuke didn't speak he didn't react. Kakashi swore out loud. Over the past three months Sasuke had only sunk deeper and deeper into depression, surfacing only to kill with a rage that frightened the battle weary men. Kakashi was tired of it. Was tired of watching Sasuke self-destruct. Naruto was better, relatively but Kakashi could see that Sasuke was slipping into the darkness. Kakashi glared into his dead eyes and was saddened, his anger washing away with sorrow.

"Do you think Sakura would have wanted this?" he asked the man. Sasuke flinched. "She would want you to live."

"Don't." Sasuke whispered.

"What?" Kakashi blinked.

"Don't talk about what she would have wanted Kakashi." Sasuke said again his voice hoarse from lack of use. "It doesn't matter any more. She's dead. I couldn't save her. I couldn't keep her safe." He paused, licking his dry lips. "I failed her."

"We all failed her Sasuke." Kakashi told him, his voice tight. "We all swore, at some time or another, to keep her safe. But she died. She died and she won't come back." Sasuke closed his eyes, not wanting to hear anymore but he didn't have the will to force the older man to let him go. He didn't even have the strength to let the Sharingan to fade to black. He was a monster without a soul.

"Sakura wanted us to live." Kakashi repeated. That wish wouldn't have changed when she died."

Sasuke wanted to die. Had wanted to die for months but couldn't do so honorably, and now Kakashi's words shamed him more.

"We can't fail her again." Kakashi finished and released Sasuke. Sasuke leaned heavily against the wall, locking his legs so as to not sink to his knees and weep. Instead he listened to the ocean near by. The waves pounded the beach nearby mercilessly. The ocean calmed and unsettled him all at once. They had made it to the place Sakura would never see and yet safety had been so close. Was so close now. Naruto was looking for a boat to use, or wood to use to make a raft. It was his excuse to leaving them alone.

The wind chopped steadily out of time with the waves, fast and heavy. Sasuke frowned. That didn't sound right. His fogged mind was struggling to place the strange sound.

"What the?" Kakashi muttered.

"GUYS!" Naruto's voice cut through the sound. Kakashi looked over at the blond racing to them up the beach. Kakashi readied his rifle as Sasuke pushed himself off the wall. The Kakashi noticed Naruto's face as Naruto waved at them joyfully to get their attention. His face was spit in too with a huge grin. Sasuke looked at him confused. Kakashi shrugged.

"GUYS!" Naruto laughed, he was crying, "HELICOPTER!"

And even as he yelled this and Kakashi an Sasuke reacted and finally placed the sound they hadn't heard in over a year a massive black helicopter came around the bend from behind collapsing apartment building and began buffeting the sand as it made to land. Kakashi was stunned. Sasuke couldn't breath. Naruto whooped and jumped, punching the air. Kakashi ran out to join the blond, yelling and waving all the way. Sasuke, still shocked walked out much more slowly. His eyes were confused, he had wanted to die but now that salvation was here… he was at war with himself and finally reality slapped him in the face.

'Oh Sakura.' Sasuke raised his face to the bleak sky, "We made it." He said and finally tears flowed free.

End of chapter


	12. Twelfth Chapter

Welcome to Hell

To PIX I now have Microsoft word. Please be my beta. Not for this story though it's almost done but for another I'm thinking of starting. Lemme know kay?

**To all my fans** that might have read 'The Wytch's Spell', I know I haven't updated that story in forever! Well guess what. I'm currently going through it and making minor changes in most of the chapters and even re-writing one or two of the chapters before starting it up again… if ever. The sucky part is I lost the USB that contained all the chapters on it, trust me I'm crying on the inside I had so much stuff on there! Sadly that also included the chapters I had already edited. Yay for doing things twice (**T_T**)…* -note my sarcasm- so it will be much later than I had hoped.

For those who are new to my work. Welcome and congratulations on making it this far. **Welcome to Hell is almost done and I will not be planning a sequel**, so don't ask. If you like my work then please look forward to my next story, or go to my profile and read some other stuff.

I have held you attention long enough, if you read all of this ^ and made it this far, sign the bottom of your review with "Spring Time of Youth!" (Three exclamation points mandatory!) and I'll give you a personal shout out with the last chapter. Cheers!

Twelfth Chapter

Bang

…

Bang

…

Bang

…

Bang

Clink…Sakura pressed the button on her handgun and let the empty magazine slide out. She ignored it and smoothly slid in a full magazine. She lifted her arm coolly, pulling the slide back and placing a bullet into the chamber. The empty magazine hit the floor an inch from her foot.

Bang

…

Bang

…

Bang

…

…

Beside her the other soldiers within the RAES glanced at one another nervously. They looked between the stoic girl and her target and back, not believing their eyes. Sakura leveled her arm and stared straight down at the paper target with a single hole directly where the eyes would be on the human figure printed on the paper. She puled the trigger and fired a bullet directly through the hole in the paper, just like every bullet she shot. She emptied the clip once more and placed the weapon down on the table. The shooting gallery was dead silent. Sakura pushed the button to her right and the target began making it's way towards her and the slight whirring sound cut through the air like a knife. Sakura inwardly sighed as she felt the men's gaze shift from her to her target coming up to them. The result never changed, you'd think they would get tired of this by now.

The target reached her and she took the target down, the paper rustled as she took it down off its hook. Murmurs broke out around her when she straightened out the paper to check her aim.

"Crazy," one person muttered, "That's absolutely crazy."

"Insane," said another.

"Skills from the outside man, nuthin' like the skills from the outside."

Sakura tsked and crumpled the paper up in frustration. "Missed." She had nicked the side of the original hole she had made with her first shot. In a life or death situation, to her that nick meant death. Around her the other soldiers sweat dropped but wisely decided not to say anything.

Sakura cleared her weapon and walked up to the cage to sign out and have her weapon checked. It was annoying but procedure so she put up with it. The clerk in the cage handed her out the clipboard for her to sign and took her weapon. Behind her Sakura was ware of someone approaching.

"What's up Tenten?" She asked before the brunette could surprise her.

"Damn it Sakura," Tenten grinned down at the rose haired girl. "You know that psychic locater thing it pretty freaky to be on the receiving end of."

"It's handy when you don't want to shoot someone for attempting to scare you from behind." Sakura replied.

"Touché," The older woman said as Sakura got her handgun back. "Knowing your aim I wouldn't have a chance." Sakura rolled her eyes again and left the shooting gallery Tenten not far behind her.

"Speaking of aim, nice shooting back there." Tenten remarked. Sakura grimaced, resisting to roll her eyes a second time in as many minutes. "Oh come on red!" Tenten exclaimed using her nickname for Sakura because of her unique hair colour. "One little nick! It's not the end of the world." She slung her arm around her friend's shoulders.

"The world can't end anymore than it already has Tenten." Sakura deadpanned.

"From your mouth to the gods ears girl." Tenten mock scolded giving her friend light cuff. "What's got you so uptight anyways? Usually you don't get so worked up over a nick."

Sakura sighed and closed her eyes. She let Tenten guide her around people as they made it to the main road, their black leather uniform jackets standing out in a crowd. "I don't know Tenny," Sakura replied. "There's…something in my head. A feeling that's been with me for a while now, but it's just so much worse today."

"You need to go see Tsunade?" Tenten asked. Sakura shook her head.

"Nah I'll be okay," She said, "It doesn't hurt, it's just annoying. I wish it would go away."

"What's it like?"

Sakura thought for a moment. She wasn't used to describing her little ability. "It's like…a buzzing almost, it's fuzzy like what ever I'm picking up is a long way off."

"That doesn't help me in the least but I'll pretend to get what you mean." Tenten joked giving her friend a squeeze. "Ah! Got you to smile!" Sakura swiftly attempted to stifle a grin and failed miserably.

"See, I got you to smile!" Tenten smirked.

"Stop it Tenny." Sakura said as she slipped out of her friends arm and sidestepped a pair of kids charging down the sidewalk. Tenten felt her smirk slip a little when she saw that Sakuras smile didn't reach her eyes. She had never seen a true smile from the girl in the weeks she had known Sakura. Tenten knew a little of the girls past. She knew she had been brought in a about five months ago with no memory, and from what Tenten had heard. When Sakura did remember her past, she remembered she had lost everyone. Tenten caught sight of the dog tags Sakura wore around her neck as the glinted in the evening sun. Even the man she loved.

According to her partner Neji, who was cousins with Hinata, who was friends with Ino, who was there when Sakura remembered everything, so the information was sure to be accurate, those dog tags belonged to one of the three men Sakura had traveled with during the year she had spent in the Outside. Apparently she had gotten really close to them but especially close to the man who had worn those dog tags. It was Ino's speculation that Sakura was actually in love with the mystery man and never realized it until it was far too late.

'She certainly has he look of a woman mourning a lost lover.' Tenten thought as she fixed her smile back in place when Sakura looked back at her for being quiet for too long.

"Hey red, Neji, Lee and I are getting together at the bar. Want to join us?" she asked Sakura. Sakura gave her a small smile and shook her head.

"No, sorry Tenten, but I just don't feel like it." She replied tapping her head. Plus I'm tired."

"You're always tired." Tenten complained, "You just don't want to be alone with Lee." She paused then continued, "Not that I blame you." Sakura chuckled.

"I know I say that all the time." Sakura said, "But it's true after I remembered," she cut off then swallowed, "after everything came back to me, I just can't seem to summon up the energy to do much more then target practice."

"That my dear," Tenten replied, "is called depression. You want company tonight? I can ditch Neji and he can handle Lee."

"I'll be fine Tenten." Sakura told her friend, "I'm just tired and want to go to bed. You go have fun.

"If your sure." Tenten trailed off as the pair stopped in front of the building where Sakuras apartment was.

"Go." Sakura urged giving Tenten a light push. Tenten conceded and nodded.

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow."

"If you don't call in sick with a hangover again." Sakura said with a small smile. This time Tenten rolled her eyes.

"Yes mother," she replied with heavy sarcasm and duck Sakura's cuff and ran off with a wave over her shoulder. Sakura waved after her but after a few seconds she felt the smile she pasted to her face slip away and her had slowed and fell to her side. Her emotionless face was back in place. It was her true face now; it reflected her soul, as torn and ripped as it was. She turned and walked into her home.

XXX

It was just before dawn, the sky hadn't yet begun to shed its inky black veil and Sakura was in the grips of a nightmare. One she had frequently, it was the memory of her last day she saw Sasuke and the fire in the warehouse. What haunted her the most was the fact that the fire that had killed her friends…she started it.

_After being dragged down into the dark Sakura lay stunned on the hard concrete floor of the basement. She heard the shuffling of more than one dead being behind her. Three? Four? She couldn't tell. She blinked slowly and stifled a groan giving the impression she was still unconscious. Why the things hadn't pounced on her was puzzling. She decided not to dwell on the fact and began scanning the area in front of her. Just a foot away from her head was her handgun. It must have fallen with her when the monsters dragged her down. Slowly, so to not catch the attention of the undead, to not make a sound Sakura reached for the gun. She knew she only had one bullet left, she knew she couldn't kill three or more dead with only one shot. But just ahead of her, were four barrels of packed flour. Flour was, unbelievably, highly explosive. Under pressure in those barrels, compact space with residue flour floating in the air…this room was a bomb waiting to go off. All it needed was a spark…or a gunshot, which ever worked. She grabbed the gun and steeled herself. This would most likely kill her, but it had to be done. She sucked in a deep breath and launched herself off the floor and away from the dead towards the scant cover of an abandoned chest. She instinctively aimed, her pupils narrowing to pin points as she focused on her target and braced herself for pain. She fired and the explosion might never ha been for she still didn't remember it._

A pain shot through Sakura's head and she sat up suddenly in her bed. "Gaah!" she cried out pressing her palms into the pressure points right behind her temples. "Aaaah! Aaah! Ah!" The pain was excruciating, it reminded Sakura of the time when her powers first awoke in her. She bent over, her forehead touching her knees; she was back in the SUV struggling to aim her rifle as Kakashi was backing up from the hoard of dead. No, she was safe. She was in Konoha. Sasuke was in danger he was fighting a powerful enemy. She was in her bed in Konoha. That happened almost a year ago she was continually reminding herself.

The pain in her head was building. The pressure behind her eyes was growing. The feeling she had the previous day was intense. She had to go. She had to go somewhere. Tears were staining the sheet hat covered her, now bustled around her waist.

'No,' she thought fiercely, 'no I don't want to feel I don't want to experience that pain. The pain of losing loved ones again!' The pressure got worse. 'I don't want to feel this!'

'Stop running,' whispered another voice, one quieter than the one screaming for her to run away, run away from the pain. The voice she had been listening to for almost half a year. 'Stop, it will be alright.' Sakura gasped and panted, and slowly she released the mental block she had built up in her mind, suppressing her telepathic ability to the bare minimum. The pain eased away in turn with how much of the block she removed. Also the sensation that had been with her for days grew. It was familiar, like a lost friend coming home…it welcomed her; it wanted her to know he was there. He was…there?

All at once Sakuras eyes went wide as she recognized this particular feeling and two others dwarfed by the first. She gripped the dog tags she wore even in sleep and launched out of bed. Not bothering to change out of her pajama pants and tank top she just grabbed her uniform jacket and ran out of her apartment, out of her building and down into the streets. Her bare feet pounded the asphalt as the predawn wind blew her now shoulder blade length hair up into the air.

The sun was just over the horizon and Sakura was approaching the hospital, more specifically the Isolation ward. She could see the truck leaving and the soldiers were gone, sweat shone on her skin and her feet were sore. Sakura knew she was going in the right direction because it was getting stronger, the feeling that told her he was here.

She ran to the sliding doors and paused for the first time, resting her hands on her knees she was breathing hard. She looked up, Ino was just turning around to stare back at her, her baby blue eyes wide with shock and wonder, they grew even wider when she saw Sakura there. Tsunade stood up from the desk where the receptionist usually sat and said something. But none of this mattered to Sakura, she looked past them, saw nothing but the retreating figure of someone she thought was dead stepping into an empty isolation chamber. The world slowed, nothing seemed to be in focus but him. She found her breath again and began to run towards him. The bulletproof glass was sliding shut behind Sasuke. Soon he wouldn't even hear her.

"SASUKE!" She yelled dodging doctors and any soldiers who were still there. Sakura was close to tears. Sasuke spun around, not believing his ears. He saw here and thought he was dreaming. He started forward and the door slid closed. Sakura ran into the door her hands slapping onto the glass as she stared up into his eyes. His hands here over hers, separated by an inch of glass.

"Hey, what are you…" A soldier began, stepping towards Sakura but Ino rested her hand on his shoulder and yanked him back.

"Don't you dare interrupt them Nara." She hissed, here eyes blazing and there was a slight misting at the corners of her eyes. The soldier looked exasperated at Tsunade who only nodded and the man sighed.

"Troublesome." He muttered but turned his back to the reunited couple and pulling out a cigarette.

"No smoking either." Ino muttered taking the cigarette out of his mouth.

Together they slid down until they were on their knees and Sakura rested her forehead on the glass and began to cry. Relief washed over her as she sensed Kakashi and Naruto were near as well, but most of all Sasuke was in front of her, alive and relatively well.

Sakura felt his sudden anxiety push though his bewilderment at her sudden appearance. Why was she crying?

'_You're alive!_' She sent back, _'You're alive, you're alive…_' Sasukes face softened slightly and he wished he could hold her as she cried out all the guilt that had built up in her over the months.

'_Yeah,_' he sent her, _'I'm alive._'

End of Chapter

A/N: :D 3

It's true about the flour powder though, that stuff is dangerous if your not careful. Look it up.


	13. Epilogue

Welcome to Hell

Epilogue

My life was destroyed that day when the world went to hell. I lost everything and everyone I loved. I killed them with my own hands. Then I fled, I hid, terrified in the forests of my childhood. I was haunted those long months, by memories and screams of the dead and dying. I came across humans in those woods now and then. Some of them could have even been friends in another life if my selfish self of the days of old put down her pride long enough to talk to them. In the end I had to kill them when they didn't survive the bites or died of other wounds or exposure.

I lived off the skills taught to me by my father, both my fathers since Kakashi became one of sorts. When I went into that city after all that time being alone, I was really just running away. Away from the memories that hurt me and ghosts of those I couldn't save.

That's why, when I met them. I was saved. I would have died by my self; I would have given in to the temptation. They gave me something to live for. Something to die for.

Traveling with Naruto, Kakashi and Sasuke, I found myself again. I found him. It wasn't until the three had been released from isolation I knew how much I saved them in turn. I brought new light to the bleak world we found ourselves trapped in. Kakashi told me one night by the fire in his house, after the others fell asleep by their beers and Kakashi and I were finishing up a card game. I wasn't going to lose for nothing, not to that old geezer. I told him so too.

Kakashi laughed at that, laughed in a way that I had never heard from him before. Free and without care. This is probably how he sounded before the Disaster, before he lost it all, before the fear and anxiety that came with survival.

I lost the game, spectacularly to. But I went to sleep with Sasuke by my side that night with a sense of what I had gained from that tragedy. I gained friends who would stay by my side no matter what the world threw at us. And when the happy times came, like the birth of my daughter, they were there too with smiles on their faces and laughs hugs and tears. We were a family, albeit a strange one, but a true one.

That family got bigger when Naruto announced he and Hinata were going to get married. Neji's spit take was a moment to remember and Ino howled in laughter. I don't regret anything any more. But I know Sasuke still does. That's the person he is. He regrets his mother; father and brother weren't around to meet me and our children. He regretted not protecting me in that warehouse, he regretted giving up. I forgave him for that, as he forgave me for leaving them behind.

That day when they were released from the isolation rooms, Naruto's cry woke me up from where I had camped out in the lobby and Kakashi had to pry him of me before he tussled my hair with a tear in his eye. I never cried so hard. I didn't know I had seen him as a father figure until I thought he had left me for good. Ino was there with me the entire time, she didn't leave my side. I didn't have to tell her I forgave her for what she had said, and she knew I didn't have to say anything to understand me. I gained a sister that day and I asked no one else to be my maid of honor.

When I saw Sasuke again, after he came out. It was like time stopped for the both of us. We just looked at each other, I was barley aware of Ino and Kakashi discretely dragging Naruto away with their hands over his mouth.

'Hola' I said and he grinned and that was all it took. I was in his arms kissing him and he was holding me tight and I knew I was home.

It's ironic don't you think? Losing everything and surviving hell, only to find salvation at the other end of a gun, pointed directly at my head.

Welcome to Hell everybody. Please don't die. Because you never know what you'll find.

The End

AN:

IT'S OVER!

Big thanks to:  
Chantrea Moonbeam

Reignashii

Black Rose

SasuSakuKawaii

Sasukeluva 4eva

Taiyauchiha21

infinityXisXme

signora del cielo delle stelle

I know you guys read every word I wrote because you answered my rather long blub last chapter (muwahahaha) if you haven't read it. Go back and read it it's important…

_**Major huge thanks**_ to PIX! I don't know where you went for the last chapter but your excellent reviews helped me so much in writing these last few chapters and thanks for pointing out some of my flaws to work on.

A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL MY READERS I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH! THANK YOU FOR STICKING WITH ME THIS LONG!

I do have some changes to make to my last blurb at the begging if the last chapter, sadly because I lost my USB containing all the chapters of "The Wytch's Spell" and it's corrections I will be deleting the story and will not be continuing it.

HOWEVER!

BIG NEW TO ALL WHO READ MY STUFF!

I have begun, already, another new story which has a similar feel and story plot to it as "The Wytch's Spell" call it what I actually envisioned but in a completely different setting and take on the story.

My next work is called Yume and I have already posted the first chapter. Check it out yeah?

Ciao mates

Neko-Graphic


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